Skittering Campione
by Greatazuredragon
Summary: Taylor Hebert has been known by many titles during the course of her young life: Daughter, friend, victim, villain, warlord, hero, monster, savior… But now, awakening in a whole new world after defeating Scion, she will have to bear a new unexpected title: Campione.
1. Chapter 1 - You Either Die a Hero

**Author's Notes:**

Recently I've been really into the Campione fanon, there are some really good crossovers in it, like for instance **Marcus Galen Sands** amazing story **"God Slaying Blade Works"** , and so, after some though and consideration, I decided to give it a go myself.

While thinking about what other work to make it a crossover with my mind immediately went to **Wildbow's** masterpiece **"Worm"**. The ending of which would fit magnificently with the Campione universe, what with Taylor having just slayed a God-like being and being on the verge of death, Contessa's meddling tendencies and Doormaker ability to access alternate earths.

This was the end result; I hope you all enjoy it.

Timeline wise the story will take place after the very ending of 'Arc 30: Speck' of Worm serial and 'Volume Five: Miko of the Sword' of Campione.

"Regular Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

" **Supernatural Beings/Heretic Gods/ Authorities/ Spells"**

Mandatory disclaimer: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **You Either Die a Hero…**

If her slowly unraveling mind was still able to comprehend such feelings Taylor knew that she would be flooded with an equal mix of elation, satisfaction, disgust and despair at her own actions.

Scion had finally been defeated. After ravaging through dozens of worlds, killing millions of innocents, slaughtering thousands of parahumans, the Entity had been finally brought low.

The Golden-morning was finally over.

And yet the price had been astronomical, not only to humanity as a whole, but to her specifically as well, for in order to defeat said monster, she had willingly turned into a monster herself.

Taylor Hebert was all but dead, her consciousness slowly but surely being consumed by the changes she had willingly imposed unto her own body, until nothing but Khepri would remain, the unfeeling monstrosity that had enslaved thousands, stripping them of their free will in order to use them as mere pawns in the battle against the great enemy.

She knew she could not remain, not for her own safety, but for theirs. For if she were to remain, it would be but a matter of time until she became just as great a threat to all as the very being she had sought to destroy.

A matter of time until the young girl that had dreamed of being a hero was utterly gone and nothing but a monster remained in her place.

An unfeeling tyrant bending all to her will, uncaring for their wishes and dreams, seeking only the path of greatest optimization to what she believed was the best for humanity.

She refused to allow such an situation to occur, to impose such a future upon the world, and so with an final exertion of her will she ordered one of her pawns to open a portal to another dimension, an Earth in which humanity had never developed, a deserted planet where there would be no one to fall under the thrall of her powers.

Stepping into the rocky terrain of a mountain she gazed at this world's setting sun, the closing portal behind her severing her link to the army she had commanded with finality, she knew it wouldn't be long now.

This was the path she had chosen, the burden she had willingly accepted, for in her heart she knew there was no other way.

Even as she heard the footsteps suddenly appearing right behind her as if out of nowhere, she did not turn around, there was no need, she knew perfectly well who it was that had just arrived, and even with her fractured mind she knew what was her intent.

She felt as Contessa entered her range, and for a brief moment she felt a smothering urge to take control of the unbelievably powerful Thinker.

And in that final moment that preluded her ending, a small treacherous part of her mind lurched forward, rebelling against her self imposed fate.

' _Why should we give everything up? Time and again those in power had shown their incompetency, their inability to do what had to be done! Why shouldn't we rule them if that would mean the betterment for all?! We succeeded where all others had failed! We cou_ _ **ld guide them with our vision,**_ _ **our powers!**_ _ **Why shouldn't we take what is rightfully ours!?'**_

With a supernatural exertion of what little remained of her consciousness, of what had once defined the young girl known as Taylor Hebert, she crushed that growing train of thought down with all her will, knowing it to be the very influence she had come here to escape from.

With the now swiftly fracturing remains of her mind she knew she would be unable to hold it back for long, that, as things stood, it would be but a matter of moments before she was all but lost and only Khepri remained, but she also knew she only had to do it for a couple moments longer.

She heard the clicking of the gun's hammer being pulled back, and in that last moment, as her tired eyes took in the setting sun in this barren earth, she held firm, her resolve unshakable.

She had given her all in order to take down Scion, and now, it was time to give what little was left.

For that was the path of a hero.

"Thank you, and good luck." She heard her executioner say as the gun fired twice.

A slight feeling of confusion entered her mind upon hearing those words, pondering their meaning even as the two bullets hit the back of her head and darkness overtook her.

But as she fell to the ground her last feeling was not of her body hitting the harsh rocky terrain of the mountainous landscape, but the swift passage of air all around her, as if she was falling through a long deep tunnel…

 **\V/**

Taylor could feel a soft comfortable surface beneath her head, and even in her half awake state she couldn't help but feel surprised by the fact, since she had assumed she wouldn't feel anything else ever again.

" **This is extremely irregular you know."** A motherly voice, undeniably youthful and yet somehow old beyond belief, resounded through her mind, awakening her from her stupor.

" **It has truly been quite some time since I've last faced such a conundrum."** The speaker continued in a cheerful tone of voice.

Taylor felt a sudden bout of befuddlement at the other's words, unable to understand what the voice was talking about, the fact she was fairly certain she had been just shot in the head only adding to her growing bewilderment at her current situation.

" **In one hand** _ **He**_ **wasn't exactly a Heretic God; not to mention that you did not slay** _ **Him**_ **by yourself."**

But before she could try and discern what exactly was happening small delicate hands started massaging her scalp, their nimble fingers gently combing through her long hair in such a way that she could not help but sigh in contentment.

" **But in the other,** _ **He**_ **had more than enough power that there is basically no difference between** _ **Him**_ **and the real deal; and it's indubitable that it was your actions and ultimately your sacrifice that allowed** _ **Him**_ **to be slain."**

The woman continued, a wondering tone entering her caring voice.

" **To sacrifice everything you had and everything you were; your family, your name, your morals, your future, your power, your life, even your very sense of self, all so that others could live on."**

" **Knowing that you would receive no praise for your actions; that the world would see you as a monster not unlike the one you had set to destroy, and yet you did not falter, keeping true to yourself and your ideals to the bitter end. How could one's heart not be touched by such a tale?"**

She could tell that what was being said pertained to her fate, and yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't move an inch, couldn't escape the comforting warmness that seemed to be permeating her very being.

" **Very well, I've decided! Such grand actions are worth of recompense, and so I Pandora, the all giving woman, the witch who brought forward all evils of this world and a shred of hope, claim this child as my newest daughter!"**

The woman's words were accompanied by a mindless bellow of incomprehensible rage resounding from the distance, a wordless proclamation of pure fury and undiluted anger, a primordial sound that no natural being should be able to make.

But Taylor paid no mind to the otherworldly sound, for upon hearing those words she had felt a feeling of longing spark deep within her heart, a feeling she hadn't felt in years, and so she focused all her remaining strength into slowly opening her eyes.

" **Rage all you want, I've made my choice."** Pandora proclaimed amidst her bell like laughter, her gentle hands cradling Taylor's form. **"Let everyone present grant their blessings and their hatred to this child! The eight Campione, please bestow the sacred spell words upon this child!"**

After what felt like eternity she felt her eyes open and managed to gaze at the one speaking. A young caring face framed by long light purple hair, a small gentle smile filled with pride, and a pair of purple eyes brimming full of motherly love.

" **By the black art I and Epimetheus left behind, this is a sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret of usurpation only made possible through the sacrifice of a God."**

She finally recognized the feeling pooling within her chest, and with a supreme effort of will she opened her mouth to ask the question that had lodged itself into her hazy mind.

" **I grant you my blessing's Taylor Hebert, so that you may be reborn as the new God-slayer, King of Kings, Campione."**

"…Mom?" She managed to finally ask, her eyes locked within Pandora's proud gaze.

" **Good luck, my child."** The all giving woman said as she laid a gentle kiss upon Taylor's forehead while all around them the world dissolved into white mist.

 **\V/**

A thrumming of power reverberated throughout the world for but a single moment, as if a single beat of a truly titanic heart resonating through the earth and the sky, announcing to all those with the senses to understand the world for what it truly was what had just happened.

A beautiful black haired woman amidst the wilderness of China stopped her daily training routine to look to the west, a pleased light entering her fierce gaze as she pondered what had just happened.

A old looking man sitting in a throne inside his castle high upon the Balkans turned his head to the south, a large predatory smile slowly emerging from his features at the possibilities this presented.

A blond haired man calmly eating at a café in Italy let out a pleased hum even as he continued to savor the shortcake before him, his features all but radiating contentment at what he had just sensed.

A mid-eastern woman stopped in surprise midstride, her body halfway through an open portal, her eyes shining with curiosity at the meaning of what she had just felt as she gazed to the west.

A black haired youth rummaging through the secure vaults of an organization not his own stopped for a moment to gaze towards the south, frowning at what this turn of events could ultimately mean to his plans.

A masked hero calmly patrolling her city halted on her tracks atop the rooftops of Los Angeles, her head turning to the south-east before, with a small nod of acknowledgment, she restarted her route.

A black haired Japanese youth suddenly jolted himself awake from the half slumbering state he had been in as his history teacher drone on and on about something, his eyes looking to the west while a look of confusion appeared upon his features.

All around the world a fact was acknowledged with trepidation and awe, fear and reverence, praise and loathing; the fact that a mortal had just done the impossible, that a God had just been slayed.

That one of Pandora's children had just been born.

 **\V/**

Taylor awoke with a start, the rough feeling of sand beneath her body only speeding her swift return into wakefulness.

She felt as if something extremely important had just happened, but she could not tell what, her memories foggy and indistinct. All she could remember was a pair of proud motherly eyes and a feeling of utter contentment, a feeling she had not experienced in years, not since her mother had passed away.

Her feeling of confusion was only increased as she took in her surroundings, a feeling that was not helped in the least by the fact that an unhelpful part of her mind kept insisting she should be dead.

Looking at the sea of sand billowing all around her she wasted a moment wondering where the hell she could be, or why exactly she was still alive for that matter.

She remembered allowing Contessa free reign to shot her in head in order to not allow herself to become a danger to the world, to stop the unthinking monstrosity she was slowly turning into, and yet she now felt inexplicably fine.

More than fine in fact, for as she slowly caressed the back of her head with her hands, searching for the entry wounds she knew should be there, she realized she had never felt better, not even after being healed by Panacea had she ever felt so well.

Her musings where brought short upon realizing that her right arm that had been ripped off during the battle was whole once again, and that even thought she wasn't wearing her glasses her eyes could see perfectly well. Point in fact her lithe athletic frame appeared to be fitter and healthier than ever before.

It was as if every wound she had ever suffered, no matter how small or insignificant, had been healed as if they had never happened, while simultaneously her body had been enhanced past the very uppermost limits of the human condition.

"What are you playing at Contessa?" She murmured to herself as she slowly took in the prime condition of her body.

She knew that the fact she was still alive was due to the Thinker's meddling, it was the only explanation to how she was still drawing breath after being shot twice in the back of her head by that very same Thinker.

Now that she stopped to think about it, the fact she had been apparently dumped in the middle of a desert was also most likely her fault too.

And it was as she mused at what her survival could possibly mean to Contessa's ever precious 'Path' that with a start she realized something, or more precisely the absence of something.

She could not feel the growing insanity that had been plaguing her thoughts, the maddening urge that had haunted her footsteps. Point in fact she could not feel even the faintest whispers of her Master ability, and considering the fact she could clearly see a scorpion skittering upon the next dune over she knew that it was not for a lack of targets within her range.

For the first time in quite some time her mind was utterly clear, with nothing but her own thoughts reverberating insider her brain.

Sudden realization filled her as she added her apparent sudden lack of powers with her supposed murderer last actions.

"You got to be kidding me?!" She shouted out loud as she concluded that somehow, the Thinker had apparently managed to do what amounted to a brain surgery with a freaking handgun.

She knew Contessa's 'Path to Victory' was the very pinnacle of all overpowered bullshit abilities, but even then there should be limits to such absurdity. And yet, she could not deny the fact that that was apparently exactly what had just happened, that somehow the Thinker had managed to remove her Corona Polentia and Gemma with a pair of freakily precise gun shots.

She wasted a moment mourning the loss of her powers, dreading being suddenly helpless after years as a parahuman, but that feeling was suddenly swiped aside as she realized that it also meant she was no longer a danger to others, that she could live on.

That Khepri was no more.

A small hopeful smile entering her features she gathered herself and started to climb the tallest dune in sight in order to gather her bearings and hopefully find some sign of civilization.

But even amidst her growing happiness she could not help but notice and odd feeling in the back of her mind, as if words were being whispered just at the edge of her hearing range, as if a wellspring of power had suddenly been lodged deep within her very soul.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

So here we have the first chapter.

For those not familiar with the Worm-verse Contessa possesses a mental power, aka Thinker power, called 'Path to Victory'. As the name implies, upon deciding upon a goal she can comprehend her power gives her a step by step instruction in how to achieve said goal, therefore ensuring her victory.

In this story after using Taylor to fight Scion Contessa neutralized her Master power and left her in the world of Campione, where Pandora upon sensing Taylor's actions turned her into a Devil-King saving her life.

And so starts our story, I've already decided upon the first two Gods she will have to face, but feel free to offer suggestions regarding future ones. I already have the bare bones of the plot mapped out, but not all of it, so if I think that your suggestions could fit into the plot they will appear later on.

A fair warning, things will go mostly the AU route regarding Canon Campione, some events will still remain the same, but others will be drastically affected. There will be also some minor changes to Worm canon as well, since for instance Taylor had no idea her codename was Khepri during the battle against Scion, or that it would be called the Golden Morning.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	2. Chapter 2 - Or Become a Campione

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story so far. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, some of you wondered why Taylor lost her Master power even though her rebirth regenerated her whole body. The reason for that comes from the fact that the Corona Polentia and Gemma, what gives Parahumans their powers in Worm, are in fact shards of the Entities themselves, and not a natural part of the body.

So as the ritual regenerated Taylor it took the remains of her Shard as if it was a part of the slayed God power and not an actual part of her body, converting it into energy for her new Authorities instead of actually healing it.

Thirdly, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the very positive feedback I received for this story first chapter; I mean, it got over a hundred favorites in less than a week and that's awesome! That in turn motivated me to try and finish this chapter far sooner than I had originally intended, so please enjoy the early update.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

… **Or Become a Campione.**

Taylor had no idea how it could have possibly happened, what could have possibly caused this sudden change.

Everything she knew regarding parahuman powers said that such a thing should not be possible, that what she was currently experiencing could not happen, and considering the fact she knew a lot of classified information that even high ranking government members or PRT personnel had no idea about, that was saying something.

But as she watched the sweeping dunes rushing down beneath her and felt the hot desert wind buffeting her face she could not deny a very simple inescapable fact.

Somehow she was flying.

She knew her powers should be gone, lost and removed alongside her Corona Polentia and Gemma due to Contessa's precision shots. And yet here she was, apparently with a completely new power set.

But even though she had no actual proof, she knew that something regarding this new power was completely different from the shard based powers granted by the Entities.

For one she somehow seemed to know precisely how her new powers operated, as if someone had imbued an instruction manual along with them right into her mind, and taking in consideration the fact it had taken her months to even start to truly master her former power, she could most certainly attest that it was something no parahuman power naturally had.

And yet in the past few hours she had already managed to grasp how her powers worked down to a usable level.

For another difference, her new powers seemed to need some kind of prayer or incantation to be said for them to work, incantations that somehow she already knew the words for, as if they were spell words of some sort.

' _Great somehow I'm a witch, Myrddin would be thrilled.'_ A small part of her mind could not help but think with a tinge of sarcasm as she remembered the eccentric self proclaimed wizard hero.

And finally instead of one singular power she somehow found herself bearing no less than three clearly distinct power-sets. Something that not even Eidolon had been able to do at the height of his power. Not to mention one of her new powers seemed to be some kind of variant of said hero own power-set.

She hadn't yet experimented with the other two powers, but what she had been able to gleam about them alongside the power she was currently using made her certain that this was most certainly not something based upon the Entities shards.

She had no idea what this could possibly mean, and it both confused and worried her quite a bit, but she would take what help she could get in her current situation, so she wouldn't look a gifted horse in the mouth, at least for the moment.

Shaking her head clear of such thoughts she focused at the majestic sight she was observing in the horizon, happy that after nearly an entire day stranded in a desert she now knew where the hell she had been dumped, the combination of the immense desert beneath her with the three massive pyramidal structures fast approaching in the distance making it pretty hard for her to mistake where she was at the moment.

Mentally checking how long she still had until her flight power dissipated she decided to touch down a few kilometers away from Cairo proper, for not only had she no desire to plummet to the earth by pushing her power up to the last minute, but she also had no knowledge of how badly she was being hunted right now, and simply appearing right in the middle of a large city in such a attention grabbing fashion seemed like a really bad idea.

After all her actions during the Golden-morning had in all likelihood granted her an Kill Order, at minimum.

' _Yeah discretion is definitely the best part of valor in this case.'_ She grimly decided as she gently touched down between two tall dunes, inwardly marveling at how easily she was controlling this new power.

Yes there was definitely something amiss regarding this situation, and finding out what it was took definite priority.

 **\V/**

If she still had any doubts she was not in Kansas anymore so to speak the faded travel agency advertisement she had just passed by in the office wall, promoting the benefits and cheap costs of visiting Kyushu in Japan of all places, would have immediately put said doubts to rest.

After all in her home world of Earth-bet Kyushu now dwelled deep beneath the waves of the pacific after being put there by Leviathan, making visiting it a tad bit difficult.

Her earlier research had also showed that this earth apparently had no parahumans, or powers to speak off for that matter; thankfully there were also no sightings of all-powerful eldritch abominations hell bent in destroying humanity either, well at least not out of fiction.

All in all this was actually good news for her continued well being and survival, since if this Earth had no dealings with her home dimension, or with the other dimensions where Scion had rampaged, that would mean there was also no one here out to take her head due to her actions as Khepri

But at the same time she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, that something was missing, that something simply did not add up. A feeling that what she was seeing was but a small part of a greater whole.

It was that very same feeling that had made her use the two remaining charges of her new Eidolon type power to grant herself temporary Thinker powers in order to try and better access the situation on this new Earth as she availed herself of the computers in one of Cairo's public libraries.

The results of her findings did not fill her with confidence.

There was definitely more to this planet than it was immediately apparent. Her powers had managed to show her the loose ends left behind in dozens, if not hundreds, of perfectly fabricated cover up stories regarding so called natural disasters or strange accidents that were clearly nothing but natural or accidental.

Regrettably her charges had dissipated long before she could make more definite conclusions and would take eight hours to recharge, and the charge she had used for the flight power that had taken her out of the desert would still take about another two hours before she could use it again, leaving her decidedly antsy regarding the situation at hand.

This agitation and nervousness was not helped by the fact that somehow she now apparently could both read and speak in perfect Arabic, despite the fact she hadn't even known what the language sounded like before today.

All that nervous energy had in turn led her into wandering into the seedier parts of the Egyptian capital while she waited for the time to pass by and her power to recharge, but her little late night excursion, that had simply started as a way of burning off her nervous energy, had ended up turning into a very profitable venture due to her past dealings with the criminal underworld of Earth-bet, even without the use of her powers.

Checking the poorly disguised stash house for traps one last time she calmly left the office that until moments ago had contained the criminals' illicit gains without alerting any of the lookouts outside. Coming from a world where people had long since grown used to dealing with super powered criminals, and took appropriate measures to deal with them and protect their goods, the defenses around the place had been laughable at best.

Carrying out a duffel bag filled to the brim with the fruits of her venture she exited through the roof before making the short jump to a neighboring warehouse, thinking that now that she had the funds all she had to do was find someone capable of making her an fake identity, which in this part of town wouldn't be that hard a task to accomplish.

But even as she considered what would be necessary to create a new civilian identity part of her mind could not help but fix itself upon the strange weather that was gathering in the horizon. Some kind of concentrated windstorm forming amidst the pyramids, gathering sand in a funnel like format, while at the same time somehow the temperature seemed to be hotter now than it had been during the day despite how notoriously cold desert nights were supposed to be.

' _I have a bad feeling about this.'_ She decided as she lowered herself using a drainage pipe back to ground level, eyes locked at the strange weather phenomenon.

Back home such disparity from the norm, such a sudden display of strange abnormal weather, would have meant one think and one think only, Endbringer.

And considering what she had managed to dig up regarding all the cover ups of supposedly 'natural' disasters while in addition with her usual luck, she wasn't really hoping for it to be any different here on this Earth.

Firming her resolve she decided to find a place to stash her recently acquired funds, it was time to find out exactly what was happening around here.

 **\V/**

Looking at the ever growing sandstorm located a mere mile away from her position Anit Khalfani could honestly say that she was not having a good day.

She had eventually accepted the fact that she would one day enter the service of the Council of the Sands, what with her family's history of service and her own talent regarding the family's arts.

She knew her skill with wards was simply too valuable to allow anything else, and had long since resigned herself that her own desires mattered little in the eyes of the family. She had made peace with that and served the Council, if not enthusiastically, then at least dutifully.

But now standing right next to where a Heretic God was slowly manifesting into the world, the sandy winds battering her olive skin and her long braided black hair, right alongside the other few unfortunate enough mages tasked by the Council to ward off the area so that no civilians could enter it, she couldn't help but wish she had chosen to defy her family and went to college abroad instead of staying back in order to further perfect her mage-craft.

She knew that not even the full might of the Council could contend with a Heretic God, and that what she and the others were doing could barely count as a delaying action at best, while the higher ups panicked and fruitlessly searched for an answer to the problem at hand.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she would not delude herself, grimly acknowledging the harsh truth. They had been all but sacrificed in order to buy time, no one expecting them to hold out for long or to actually succeed.

Her morose thoughts were cut short as her earpiece flared to life, signaling an incoming transmission.

"Anit we got a sighting of a civilian entering your quadrant! A tall white skinned woman with long black hair. What the hell are you doing, are the wards down?!"

"That's a negative. The perimeter wards are still going strong; it should have repelled all civilians attempting to enter the area." She dutifully replied while checking the integrity of her spell work.

"Well it clearly isn't working as intended, so much for the Khalfani's supposed mastery of the art." Was the sarcastic reply coming through the radio waves. "Go waylay that crazy lady before she gets herself killed!"

Her boss all but barked, Anit having to bit back the scathing reply that was on the tip of her tongue regarding the pompous fool that was safely back at their mobile headquarters, over ten miles back from the front.

"Understood, departing immediately." She calmly said, not a trace of her contempt appearing in her words.

" **Benevolent Shu, he who rises up, carry me into safety upon your winds embrace!"** She intoned the spell before jumping out of the perch she had been stationed, allowing the enchanted winds she had summoned to carry her towards the intruder.

But even as she sailed through the air she couldn't help but wonder how a civilian could have penetrated the perimeter.

She normally wasn't one to brag, but the fact was that even if she was young, just entering her twenties, that didn't mean her wards weren't powerful; she knew that there were no practitioners of the magical arts in the whole of Egypt that could rival her in that particular field.

Very few beings could force their way through her spell work, even fewer were able to do so without her notice. So the fact that a civilian woman of all things had slipped her notice and bypassed her perimeter was simply mindboggling.

Her spells were still intact and held far more than enough power to block even accomplished magicians, let alone a civilian, so how had this girl simply strolled through them as if they hadn't even been there? It was almost as if the magic in the wards had been unable to latch into her.

Putting those thoughts to the side as she approached the clearly visible figure of a young tall dark haired woman standing atop one of the observation platforms close to the pyramids, she focused at the task at hand, getting this suicidal oblivious individual out of the epicenter of what was easily turning into the greatest magical crisis Egypt had faced in decades.

But just as she landed right in front of the intruder, mouth already opened in order to deliver a scathing remark regarding said intruder's intelligence, Anit found herself muted by what she could now sense.

Power, vast amounts of magical power; somehow hidden inside this young woman there was so much power that it was as if she was now standing right next to a sun.

No human could posses so much power, no natural being should posses so much power. The only beings that held within them such vast reserves of energy were the Gods themselves! Well Gods and those rare few that had achieve the impossible task of slaying them, the Campione…

And the moment that that particular though darted within her mind she froze right where she was standing, wide eyes locked upon the woman's own curious emerald gaze.

' _Okay Anit, calm down.'_ She thought with a tinge of hysteria, trying and failing to calm herself. _'You just stumbled upon a Devil-king and are now standing between her and a Heretic God, no big deal.'_

Looking as the woman started to slowly close the distance between them a small unhelpful part of her mind couldn't help but remark that she was really not having a good day.

 **\V/**

Watching the young olive skinned woman descend from the sky, from the direction of the very center of the freakish sandstorm that was slowly growing in strength, Taylor could feel a small sense of satisfaction despite the situation at hand.

' _So there really is some kind of worldwide cover up conspiracy.'_ She thought with finality as she quickly analyzed the 'parahuman' before her, intending to try and open up a dialogue in search for more information, but ready to fight if necessary.

This proved that there were people with powers in this reality and that, unlike her own home reality, they went to great lengths to keep out of the public eye. This at the same time raised both possibilities and problems.

Having spent the last few years of her life immerged in the world of capes she knew that it possessed its own private culture, conventions and laws, this secret society of power users would be no different, point in fact it would probably be even worse if they were truly as isolated from the rest of humanity as her initial search had hinted. But at the same time she would not have to completely hide her own powers in fear of being treated like some kind of devil or divine being.

But before she could act upon her still growing plans of action they were brought to a halt as she noticed that not only was the woman not speaking, but she appeared to have literally frozen up on the spot, small shivers running down her body.

For a moment Taylor feared she could be suffering from some form of medical condition or be experiencing some kind of attack, but as she started to move towards her in order to help, the sudden look of fear that was clear in the woman's gaze told a different story altogether.

' _She is terrified of me.'_ She thought in confusion, realizing that this woman who had never seen her before and couldn't possibly know what she had done in the past, was utterly terrified of her.

Her feelings of confusion were only raised as the woman suddenly dropped to a knee, hands clasped in front of her chest and head bowed low, as if a supplicant standing before some all powerful monarch.

"My apologies Your Grace, we had no idea you were visiting our country. How can this one be of assistance?" She said in a subservient tone of voice, her body language humble and contrite.

Taking in the sight of the woman kneeling before her, unminding of the ever growing sandstorm raging all around them, Taylor found herself formulating one single thought.

' _What the hell?'_

 **\V/**

 **Taylor's Authorities:**

 **Eternity's Sight. (Scion)**

"I saw that which should have never been seen; I've gazed into the abyss and watched its secrets; I've peered into infinity and learned its truth; I've stared past the veils of reality and witnessed its wonders; nothing shall escape the sight of my all seeing eyes!"

An Authority that grants the user perfect understanding of everything that is happening around her in a eight block radius, roughly 800 meters, effectively creating an sphere of omniscience centered around Taylor's body.

There is technically no upper limit to how long this Authority can be used at a time, but its use demands a toll upon the wearer in the form of headaches caused by the information overload, the longer the wearer uses it and the more information being absorbed at once the larger the migraine caused afterwards.

 **Golden Hero (Scion)**

"A hero endures; Stalwart and firm; Unyielding and unafraid; Dauntless and resolute; His might unequalled; his power unmatched; his mettle incomparable; for he is the symbol of that which shall remain past eternity's end. A hero endures."

An Authority that turns the body of its user into a golden avatar of immense power and extraordinary resilience for a period of up to thirty minutes; while on this state Taylor can freely adjust her body's density, the larger the density of the avatar the greater its offensive strength and defensive capabilities, there being no upper limit to the body's density level, but doing so also slightly reduces the user speed accordingly.

After being used it takes forty eight hours before this Authority can be used again.

 **Shards of Infinity. (Scion)**

"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"

An Authority that allows the user to temporarily grant up to three power 'shards' to herself or another person for a period varying from sixty minutes to six minutes depending on the rating of said power.

First Taylor must decided upon which category the power will fall: Mover, Shaker, Brute, Breaker, Master, Tinker, Blaster, Thinker, Striker, Changer, Trump or Stranger; and afterwards the rating, from one to ten, of said power, a level one power lasting for sixty minutes, while a level ten power lasting for only six. Powerwise a level one power is akin to a powerful spell casted by a particularly strong mortal mage, while a level ten power is akin to a full blown God's Authority.

There is a measure of randomness regarding this Authority, for while the user can define the category and ranking of the power, the specifics of the power itself are left to chance, for instance Taylor may choose a Brute 9 power, but while she knows that will mean some form of physical power and that it will last 12 minutes, she will not know precisely what form said Brute ability will take.

It's possible to try and guide the choice of the power, but it demands laboriously vetoing the powers offered until finally stumbling upon what is desired, all the while the timer for the power is already running.

After being used each 'shard' takes eight hours before it can be used again.

 **Author's Notes:**

So those are the Authorities that Taylor got from Scion.

I pondered long and hard in regards to what form they would take, since Scion's power was, technically speaking, ALL the powers, and his immense strength all but demanded Taylor's Authorities to be strong ones too.

The first could be considered a mutation of her own 'Swarm Sense', the second is based on Scion's own physics defying avatar and the last one is built upon Eidolon's shard. I tried to make things interesting and prepare her for the level of opposition she will face in the world of Campione, while at the same time avoiding overpowering her, hopefully it worked out alright.

Regarding the fact she got three Authorities from Scion instead of the usual only one.

Campione Canon says that under certain circumstances a Campione may receive more than one Authority from a single Heretic God, normally that being due to a high level of compatibility between the Campione and the slayed God.

I took that and used the fact that since Scion was not an actual Heretic God his power could not be returned to the plane of myths and legends, so I used that extra energy lingering around and Taylor's own close connection to him due to her own shard as an explanation to why Pandora manage to gift Taylor with three Authorities instead of the usual only one.

Next chapter we will have the confrontation between Taylor and the descending Heretic God, I wonder if any of you can guess which particular God it will be.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	3. Chapter 3 - Heretic God

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, after some thought after reading some well written reviews I ended up agreeing that the original cool down periods I had given to Taylor's Authorities were a little too harsh, so I changed them: Eternity's Sight now has no cool down, Shards of Infinity is eight hours and Golden Hero is forty eight hours.

Thirdly, some of you managed to nail exactly which God would be Taylor's first opponent in the Campione-verse and even the reason behind it. So congratulations to those who managed that.

Fourthly, wow! One hundred reviews in just two chapters! That's absolutely amazing! Thanks for all the support!

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Heretic God**

Anit had heard about Campione, after all what self respecting practitioner of the magical arts had not heard about Pandora's children?

She had heard tales about their unlimited power, their unrestrained might, their absolute right to rule all that they laid eyes upon, and the consequences of defying said right.

There was a reason why Pompeii was often brought up when explaining why it was an extremely bad idea to displease a Devil-king.

There were hours upon hours of lessons regarding the proper etiquette of how one should deal with a Campione, but if you were to remove the flowery speech and unnecessarily complicated polite terms, it's bare bones could be summarized as such: Do whatever they demand; do not piss them off; try to minimize the damage caused as they fight off Heretic Gods to the best of your ability; and pray that they leave your country soon.

But she never expected to be faced with one of said Devil-kings personally, and she could honestly say that she wished that that expectation had held true.

' _I really should have stayed in bed today.'_ She thought with a hint of despair while remaining in her kneeling position, watching the Campione from the corner of her eyes.

She was a tall black haired woman, her deep green eyes taking in Anit kneeling form with a mixture of confusion and displeasure.

"What the hell are you doing?" The Campione sternly asked, stopping right in front of Anit's kneeling form.

"My most sincere apologies if I, or my organization, have offended you in any way Your Grace, I assure you it was not our intention to do so." She replied in a deceitfully calm tone of voice despite the growing dread building up on the pit of her stomach at the possibility of dealing with an angry Devil-king.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! What's up with all this your grace crap? And stop groveling already! We have no time for this nonsense; do you know what is happening with this freakish storm?" She demanded in an irritated tone of voice, but even as part of her mind started babbling gibberish about how she was about to die, Anit focused into the questions that had just been asked.

' _Not now.'_ She thought with a hint of irritation while discreetly turning off her ear piece that had been ringing for several moments now, she had far more important matters to deal with than irritating and incompetent superiors.

It seemed impossible, especially considering how nonchalantly the Devil-king before her had acted as she dropped off from the sky, as if seeing people flying was an everyday occurrence to her, but the questions being asked truly appeared to hint at it, questions that no one affiliated with the supernatural parts of the world would have to ask.

"If I may be so bold and if such actions would not cause offense to Your Grace, may I be allowed to speak freely?" She asked after making up her mind, a hint of determination entering her features.

"You may do so." Was the woman's extremely dry reply alongside a very obvious roll of her eyes.

But even with the clear show of annoyance Anit noticed that the Campione before her seamed to react far better to a show of personal strength than mere mindless groveling, taking reassurance from that she forged on.

"Does the word Campione mean anything to you?" She asked while raising her head to stare straight into the black haired woman green eyes.

To ask such a question was a gamble, something that could very easily lead to her destruction if it happened to cause offense, but the fact remained that to the best of her knowledge she was unable to place the face before her with the names of any of the seven existing God-slayers, and that alongside the questions previously asked led her to one simple assumption.

The woman standing before her isn't one of the seven already existing Devil-kings, meaning that somehow an Eight Campione had been born without the Council even finding out about it, and said Campione was not knowledgeable about the magical world.

"No I can't say that it does, thought somehow I think that is about to drastically change, and rise already will you." She replied with a wondering tone of voice, the stare she was giving Anit one of silent appraisal.

"The title of Campione is given to those extremely rare few that have accomplished a formidable, almost impossible, feat, the act of slaying a God." She plainly stated, immediately noticing the startled look that had entered the Campione's gaze.

"In the immortal words of the famous Italian mage Alberto Ricardo: Campione, God-slayer is a supreme ruler. Since he can kill a celestial being, he can therefore call on the highly divine powers held by the Gods; Campione, God-slayer, is a lord. Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore have the power to dominate the mortals on Earth; Campione, God-slayer, is a devil. Therefore of the entire humanity living on earth, those who have the power to oppose them do not exist!"

"And that's what you are, you are a Campione, a mortal that has slayed a God and stolen its divine powers." She said in a calm tone of voice, silently watching as confusion, disbelief and realization warred within the Devil-king's green eyes.

"Tell me everything." The God-slayer commanded, all emotion leaving her eyes in favor of a steely determination.

Taking a deep breath and rising to her feet Anit Khalfani, Guardian of the Council of the Sands, started talking. All the while a small part of her mind remarked that this day wasn't turning all that bad after all.

 **\V/**

Taylor had both seen and heard a lot of unbelievable things in her young life; man and women capable of bending the very fabric of reality to their will, gargantuan monstrosities whose only purpose in existence was destruction, and even an alien creature whose power was so great that the only term it could be ascribed to was God-like.

But now after hearing this woman, Anit apparently, explaining the current situation, both in regards to herself personally and to the reason for the freakish weather, she could only come to the conclusion that, apparently, her home reality was not the only one where weird shit happened in a weekly basis for no apparent reason, not by a long shot.

' _And apparently I can remove the 'like' from God-like in regards to Scion.'_ She idly though as she digested what she had just learned.

Magic was apparently real in this reality, with both human practitioners of the art and fantastical creatures straight out of myth and legend roaming the earth. Up to and including Gods themselves.

According to Anit her new powers were called Authorities, powers that she had stolen from the Heretic God she had slayed. Heretic Gods being Gods that having grown tired of their legends had descended to the human world, rebelling from their tasks.

If a mortal were to manage the impossible task of slaying one of them they were reborn by the witch Pandora as Campione, the only mortals capable of facing the Gods in combat, and as such all magical organizations literally bowed down to their demands.

And apparently she was now one such Campione, one of the eight still living Devil-kings that called this planet home.

Her first reaction was to question the validity of the mage's words; it seemed utterly absurd after all. But at the same time she knew them to be true, some kind of instinct all but confirming her words, and Anit, now that she had stopped groveling or showing that polite façade she apparently used as a mask, seemed trustworthy enough.

It would definitely explain why one of her new powers apparently all but turned her into a female form of Scion's avatar after all.

Not to mention that the name Pandora immediately brought to mind a foggy memory of warm motherly purple eyes.

"My life can't ever be normal, can it?" She murmured to herself, gaining a curious look from Anit that she ignored in favor of looking to the center of the storm, where a Heretic God was about to manifest.

Not all Heretic Gods were inherently malicious, but the fact remained that their very presence caused major changes on their surroundings, like a God of the weather causing massive storms on his wake or a God of war seeding conflict wherever he roamed.

That resulted in the fact that a Heretic God could literally wipe out a city by simply existing, and thus had to be driven off as quickly as possible. The only problem being that the only beings capable of such a feat were the Campione themselves.

' _Great. It's the Endbringers all over again, and somehow now I have to play the role of freaking Scion and drive them off.'_ She bitterly thought, letting out a tired sigh.

"Anit Khalfani! What are you thinking turning off your ear piece?! Get rid of this stupid woman and get back to your post immediately!" An angry voice bellowed, cutting her train of thought. "I grow tired of your impertinence! I've been tasked with this mission by the Council itself and no half-baked Guardian like you will jeopardize it!"

Looking towards the annoyingly grating voice Taylor saw a sharply dressed man with greasy black hair approaching them while being flanked by two bulky bodyguards, some kind of energy shield keeping the billowing sand away from them and their pristine looking clothes.

"Sir, you don't understand, this is the Eight Camp…" Anit hurriedly tried to explain, only to be immediately cut out by the man.

"Silence! I will not hear any excuses regarding your insubordinate behavior, now be done with this nuisance!" He went on in that particular self assured manner of those that had been born to privilege.

She immediately pegged him as one of those useless bureaucrats that somehow always seemed to pop up in positions of power in large organizations, despite commonsense all but screaming that was a bad idea, the kind of man that actually created problems instead of solving them and believed himself to be always right. The kind of man that always got what he wanted due to his family connections or other such nonsense.

She took an immediate dislike to him.

"Be sure that I will inform the Council of this insubordination! Why the nerve to act out in such a …"

"Shut up." Taylor barked out, piercing him with an annoyed look. Anit had been useful and helpful up to this point, while this guy was nothing but an overcompensating waste of space, meaning that in her mind what she was about to do was a foregone conclusion.

"Why you ignorant mongrel! Do you have any idea who I am?! I'm going to have you…" He started in outrage before suddenly deflating and freezing up in place, much like Anit had done a few minutes earlier, the two bodyguards by his side fairing no better.

"No I do not, and quite frankly I don't care." Taylor said adopting the stern tone of voice she normally used to command unruly teammates during dangerous missions.

Anit had said that all magical organizations would literally bend backwards in order to avoid even a hint of her displeasure, it was time to see if that held true.

"Now stop wasting my time and begone from my sight!" She proclaimed in her most condescending tone of voice, as if an adult talking to a particular dimwitted child.

With that she turned back towards Anit, as if the man and his followers were unworthy of her attention, her formidable willpower in full use to contain the massive smirk that wanted to appear on her face at their startled sputtering looks.

Lisa would have been proud, she was sure of it.

"Anit what can you tell me about the God that is about to descend?" She calmly asked, noticing with a tinge of amusement that the olive skinned mage seemed to be fighting back a smirk of her own.

But before she could respond a sudden blast of heat washed over them, the howling sandstorm seeming to triple in intensity as a golden figure appeared amidst the dunes.

The creature looked like a golden armored man with the head of a beetle, two truly massive pincers protruding from his jaw, a pair of metallic golden beetle wings on his back, and a long golden lance in his right hand.

With a gasp Anit took in the slowly raising God before turning towards Taylor, a worried look in her eyes.

"That's the Egyptian God Khepri, he who comes into being; he is a God of creation, the sun's movement and rebirth." The Egyptian mage immediately explained, stopping for a moment to wonder about the annoyed eye twitch that seemed to have appeared upon Taylor's face.

' _They named me after a freaking bug God?!'_ She thought with annoyance while taking in the God monstrous beetle-like head.

 **\V/**

After calming down in regards to the source of the title she had bore during the Golden-morning Taylor had initially wondered how to deal with the threat at hand, after all at the moment she only had at her disposal two of her Authorities, Eternity's Sight and Golden Hero.

And while the Golden Hero would be indubitably invaluable in surviving the looming threat, much less vanquishing it, that still left out the fact that at the moment she had no practical way to reach the God amidst the dunes and absolutely no ranged capabilities.

But before she could ponder upon the merits of waiting for one of her shards to finish recharging or to simply run towards the Heretic God, said God proved the point to be moot, as one fact that Anit had briefly explained proved itself true.

Gods and God-slayers felt an intense natural dislike for one another; it was a visceral inborn hatred that was not unlike two apex predators intruding into each other's territory, meaning that the mere act of even standing in sight of the other was more than enough to incite a deep seated instinct to attack.

And the beetle headed God in the distance apparently was no exception, unleashing a bellow of fury before rushing onwards towards them while being carried by his golden wings.

"Get the hell away from here!" She commanded Anit even as she concentrated into the well of power that now dwelled inside her body, her mouth already intoning the spell words.

If this thing was anything like an Endbringer, then she could not afford to not go all out right from the start and hope to keep breathing.

" **A hero endures; Stalwart and firm; Unyielding and unafraid; Dauntless and resolute; His might unequalled; his power unmatched; his mettle incomparable; For he is the symbol of that which shall remain past eternity's end. A hero endures."**

The moment the last syllable left her lips she immediately felt the change take over, the up till now biting sands being bellowed all around completely failing to register upon her now golden skin.

She felt the power coiled down inside her muscles, the might that now rested upon her limbs, just like she knew that if she so desired she could easily increase them by increasing the density of her transformed body at a moments notice.

But such introspective thoughts were quickly set aside, as Khepri barreled forward, tackling her with the strength of a freight train, her body resilience managing to handle the attack undamaged but the sandy terrain making it so that she was unable to find purchase in order to stop the God's momentum.

" **Usurper! Thief! Abomination! How dare you step upon these hallowed grounds!"** His monstrous head hissed, the voice oddly human despite his insect like jaws. **"You shall not taint this place any longer!"**

Ignoring the God rabid shouts Taylor instead focused into drastically increasing her body's density, her feet sinking in the sand until finally she managed to ground Khepri's charge to a halt.

Even while taking notice that in this state the God's golden lance could only barely leave superficial scratches upon her reinforced skin she pushed her power even further, until finally she believed to have achieved a level of strength upon which she could fight back.

Moving her fist backwards she could not help but feel as if she was moving underwater, her movements slightly more sluggish than what she was used to, but she could cope, her now enhanced strength balancing her increased weight. And as soon as the God drew his lance backwards she launched her fist forward, connecting against his golden armor with a thundering cracking sound.

Watching him sailing backwards, a basketball sized dent on his chest, she did not waste time waiting to see the effects of her attack, propelling herself forward with powerful strides she gave chase, explosions of sand erupting in her wake due to her body weight, she knew the creature before her would not fall so easily.

Her caution proved valid as the God righted himself mid fall, his golden wings holding him in place slightly above the ground as he directed a murderous gaze towards her approaching form.

" **I'm the one that guides the sun in his path through the heavens; I'm the guardian of Rah's might! May all those who stand against us perish upon the radiant glow of our majestic light!"**

Taylor could feel the power within the God's words, the same kind of power her own words now held as she called forth her Authorities. That alongside what was hinted in the phrases just spoken made her skid to a halt while at the same time raising her body's density as high as she could as fast as she could.

The very next moment her world exploded in an all encompassing blast of golden flames, the force of the blast enough to throw even her impossibly dense body backwards as waves of extremely strong heat washed all around her.

Hitting the ground with enough force to leave behind a long deep trench Taylor shook her head in an attempt to focus her mind, still shaken by how close that had been, of how had she wasted even a moment before increasing her body resilience she would now be nothing but dust in the wind.

Taking in the glass covered surface she was now standing upon, she started to understand what Anit had meant when she had said mortals stood no chance against Heretic Gods.

All around her in a radius of more than a mile the billowing desert sands had turned into glass after being superheated by Khepri's attack, and judging by his angry filled stance and scorn filled eyes, said attack hadn't really phased the deity.

If he could use such an attack repeatedly he could literally raze a city to nothing in mere minutes.

' _He really is just like an Endbringer.'_ She grimly concluded, determination filling her form as she took in the threat before her.

Using the solid glass surface she was now standing upon as a platform, she launched herself forward with all of her body quite considerable strength, barreling forward like a golden missile, as shards of glass exploded all around her she tackled Khepri midair, just like he had done earlier in the fight.

The only difference being that at that very moment Taylor's body weighted considerably more than the average oceanic trade freighter.

Using that particular fact she brought the God down into the ground with all the momentum her body now held, glass and sand being thrown high into the air as they cratered the landscape with a tremendous thump.

Not letting up she started hitting him with fist after fist in a controlled pattern, while at the same time pinning Khepri down with her weight, unminding of the blistering hot flames that were being thrown against her body in an attempt to push her back.

She could feel her lungs starting to scream for air, air that she would have to leave the flaming crater they were now inside in order to obtain, but she refused to let up on the advantage she now held.

It was quite clear that she had the physical advantage between the two of them, her golden body far stronger and more resilient than the God's armored form, as the deep cracks and wounds all around him clearly attested.

But that advantage was limited by how long she could use her Authority, all that Khepri had to do to defeat her was to get away and take to the air where she could not follow and bombard her with his flames until her time was up and that would be it.

It was all a matter of time, not only for the battle as a whole but to this particular exchange.

An average person could hold their breath for up to two minutes, so now it was all a matter of if she could deal enough damage to take him out before she was forced to let go in order to not suffocate amidst the flames.

" **From the sands thou were born; to the sands thou shall return! Rise children of the sands; rise and consume all in thy path!"**

Khepri bellowed in anger with his inhuman mouth despite the punishing blows he was enduring, pure fury in his maddened gaze.

And before she could even react to the words uttered Taylor felt countless large bodies colliding against her side, massive claws scraping against her body, seeking purchase, attempting to dislodge her and throw away her balance.

Throwing one hand forward she clamped down on one of Khepri's arms, while with the other she attempted to bat away the blurry figures that were attacking from within the sandstorm, but in that moment of inattention an truly massive burst of golden flames was unleashed straight against her chest, the resulting explosion throwing her backwards and straight out of the crater with a loud tearing sound.

Rising from the ground she greedily took in massive gulps of air while searching for Khepri and whatever had attacked her, a vicious smile on her face despite the God having escaped due to what she now held in her hands.

Locking eyes with the furious God as he exited the crater she felt her smile grow, for not only was Khepri battered and bruised, ichor leaking from his wounds, but his left arm was completely gone, having been torn out when Taylor's grip upon it was proven to be stronger than the arm itself.

" **You have done well abomination. Few can say to have ever wounded me so."** He grumbled as the forms that had assaulted her materialized from within the billowing sands. **"But in the end you are but delaying the inevitable."**

Massive beetle like creatures the color of the sands, easily the size of large dogs and sporting razor sharp claws and massive pincers, their exact numbers hidden amidst the sandstorm but what she could see easily hinting at several dozens of them at minimum.

" **As the sun sets in the west, so it shall rise from the east; as darkness comes forth, so too shall the light return. And as such may the cycle be renewed, for I am one with the wheel of rebirth!"**

The God stated, his actions swiftly followed by a sudden furious burst of flames covering all of his body, as if attempting to devour Khepri with its fiery wrath.

And yet before Taylor's disbelieving eyes she could see flesh knitting and wounds closing, bruises disappearing as if they had never happened and his arm growing back into place in an impressive display of regeneration, until he looked as pristine as if the battle had just started.

"You got to be kidding me!" She couldn't help but exclaim in annoyance upon seeing all of her efforts turned null and void in a matter of seconds.

This was extremely bad and she knew it, the fact that Khepri was apparently a regenerator completely changing the picture of their battle, since now she had no hope of slowly withering him down, the fact that nearly a third of the time she could keep the Golden Hero's Authority active had already passed doing nothing to help her mood.

" **You will die here Usurper."** He declared, fury gleaming within his eyes as he pointed towards her with his re-grown arm, the sandstorm picking up speed and strength as if sensing the God's anger.

" **Devour!"** He commanded the scarabs, which immediately swarmed forward, pincers clicking and jaws shrieking as they rushed towards her.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

I thought that making Taylor first opponent be the very God that originated the codename she had receive during the Golden-morning was quite fitting, so Khepri is the first opponent she will face in the Campione-verse.

Khepri is an Egyptian God, usually depicted as a man with a beetle head carrying a golden scepter. While Rah is the God of the sun itself, Khepri is the one responsible for moving the sun across the heavens. He is also associated with rebirth and creation, since for the ancient Egyptians the scarabs seemed to simply sprout out of nothing from within the sands.

Ps: I nearly forgot to mention this: the power ranks of the Shard's of Infinity are only superficially based upon the PRT threat assessment ranking, since Campione Wiki tells that the Campione affects the Authority, and the PRT threat assessment ranking is something that Taylor was deeply familiar with, so that's the form the Authority took. But in this case it really is a ranking of power 'levels', each one a magnitude greater than the last going from one to ten.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	4. Chapter 4 - Campione!

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, some reviewers asked me to better clarify the power rankings of the Shards of Infinity so here it is: Rank 1, akin to the power of a strong mortal mage; Rank 2, uppermost level of human power, Hime-miko and Grand Knight level; Rank 3, lesser Divine Beasts; Rank 4, mid level Divine Beasts; Rank 5, high ranking Divine beasts; Rank 6, Divine Ancestors; Rank 7, Subordinate Gods; Rank 8, Lesser Gods; Rank 9, mid level Gods; Rank 10 high level Gods.

So from a pure power stand point you could say that only the ranks 7 and higher can truly affect an Heretic God, how much of an effect depending on the ranking of the shard and the God's own power.

Hopefully that gave you all a better feel for the power levels.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Campione!**

Punching a charging scarab away with a crunching blow before immediately turning around to hit another one with her elbow Taylor could easily admit that she was deeply annoyed.

Ripping off another of the massive beetles that was attacking her back while simultaneously kicking away two others of their brethren and trying to keep track of the rest of the swarm hidden amidst the billowing sands she idly wondered if this was the universe's idea of some kind of sick karmic joke on her expense.

The scarabs had a decent amount of strength, but nothing she could not deal with, her own physical powers dwarfing them by several orders of magnitude. Their real danger was in their numbers, for every single one she took out ten more seemed to appear out of nowhere, their sand like appearance also meaning that she could barely track them amidst the sandstorm they were in.

She knew the dangers of numbers better than most, how apparently weak beings in sufficient quantity and with the right coordination could take down foes far stronger than them. She knew far too well the dangers of a swarm.

After all that had been her main form of attack back on Earth-bet, numbers and expert coordination, and as even the supposedly invincible Alexandria could attest, if she had still been alive, that combination could take down even the strongest of foes.

She knew quite a few former opponents and enemies of hers that would probably feel deeply vindicated if she were to be taken down by what once had been her own signature modus operandi.

The fact that Khepri was staying back, far out of reach, hiding amidst the sands and his minions while harassing her with blasts of his golden flames, was also not helping her mood in the slightest.

Staggering backwards after being hit by one of said jets of flame only to have two other scarabs she had not been able to notice in time colliding against her, claws scratching alongside the top of her reinforced body as they attempted to drag her down, she could feel her annoyance slowly turning into outright rage.

Ripping them apart and crushing another scarab mid leap, she charged towards the direction the jet of flame had come from, only to confirm that once again Khepri had moved away immediately after unleashing his attack, leaving only more of his minions behind in order to harass her.

She could barely keep track of all the enemies currently attacking her, what with their seemingly endless numbers and the sandstorm raging on, much less find out the freaking bug God that was attempting to cook her alive!

There were simply too many variables coming forward from far too many directions all at the same time. With everything that was happening all around her she would need to have eyes in the back of her head if she wanted to know where everything was all the time!

Now more than ever she missed the swarm sense her former Master powers had given her, the ability to just 'know' where everything all around her was would be extremely useful right now, point in fact any kind of super sensory ability would.

That sudden train of thought nearly made her stop in her tracks, as she realized a fact she had all but forgotten due to the battle raging on.

' _Wow I'm dense…'_ She idly though with a hint of exasperation, as she realized that, while her swarm sense was indeed lost to her and far beyond her grasp; she had a new power that would work just fine for her current purposes.

Battering away the newest wave of irritating bugs that were attempting to take her down she readied herself, grin determination filling her features as the words left her mouth.

" **I saw that which should have never been seen; I've gazed into the abyss and watched its secrets; I've peered into infinity and learned its truth; I've stared past the veils of reality and witnessed its wonders; nothing shall escape the sight of my all seeing eyes!"**

She nearly staggered as her power took effect, as understanding, true understanding, washed over her mind while the world seemed to open up before her sight.

She knew where every single scarab was, her mind easily keeping track of every single one of their movements, she knew where Khepri was lurking, seeing the God's form with the same clarity as if he had been standing right next to her, just like she knew the pathways of every single grain of sand being blown by the storm's winds would take.

Not only that, but somehow she now also seemed to simply know facts regarding everything that was within her power's area of effect, like the fact that the sand looking scarabs were actually made out of sand, the speed, trajectory and strength of Khepri's jets of flames, or that the Heretic God's regenerative ability was literally infusing his entire body with healing energy.

The amount of information bombarding her brain was mind boggling, not to mention that the fact that she now apparently had a three hundred and sixty degrees omni-directional field of vision was something that would take some getting used to, but she could cope, and now that she could keep track of her opponents a plan was swiftly forming in her mind, the facts her Authority had given her allowing its creation.

It would be extremely risky, a gamble that would weight all or nothing on its outcome, point in fact some would consider it downright suicidal, especially since she had less than ten minutes remaining before the Golden Hero deactivated and no hard proof said plan would even work.

But Taylor was fine with that, the odds had never been in her favor during the entirety of her life after all, and despite all that, against all odds, she always endured, persevered and triumphed.

This time it would be no different.

Crushing another one of the annoying insect she charged forward, straight towards the hiding God location, a fierce determined light shining in her eyes.

And as she engaged the Heretic God, she knew that in order to pull this off her timing would have to be just about perfect, and that even if it worked as intended it would be close, extremely so, but if her mental calculations were right she just might be able to pull it off.

Barreling straight through dozens of scarabs, all but ignoring their searching claws, she locked eyes with her opponent.

It was time to slay a God.

 **\V/**

Anit could only watch with wide eyed wonder as the battle raged on in the distance.

She had intellectually known that both Gods and Campione were beings that stood several orders of magnitude higher in the power spectrum than even the strongest of mages.

But knowing something as just theory, and seeing it with her own two eyes were two extremely distinct things.

It was like watching two titans clashing against each other, two forces of nature vying for dominance, Taylor's golden form enduring every single one of Khepri's attacks with apparent impunity despite the obvious strength of the blows, while the God seemed able to regenerate from any wound his opponent was able to inflict, no matter how grievous.

The battle being fought before her eyes was something that would be right at home amidst the myths and legends of antiquity, right alongside the great tales of old.

It was quite literally awe-inspiring.

Hespu and his two lackeys had long since fled the area, the arrogant waste of space throwing all decorum to the wind and running away as fast as he could. But for once in her life she could not deny the fact that her useless boss had actually taken what was the most sensible course of action.

She knew that she should leave, that she had no place near such a titanic clash of pure power, and yet like a moth drawn to the flame she couldn't help but stay.

Watching as Taylor swiftly dealt with the swarm of sand scarabs surrounding her from all sides, crushing them with precise blows, all the while closing in with her enemy despite his constant barrage of golden flames, she knew that she would never forgive herself if she did leave, if she failed to witness what was happening.

To witness this momentous occasion with her own two eyes.

And as she watched Taylor barreling through dozens of the God's giant scarabs in order to deliver a vicious hammer blow with both hands against Khepri's plated chest, the shockwave of the blow strong enough to be felt even from where Anit was standing, she started to understand the real meaning behind the title all God-slayers held.

As she witnessed a mere mortal standing fast against a God, holding her ground against a being all logic demanded should be able to simply erase her from existence with a flicker of his hand, matching it blow for blow as thought they were equals, she believed that she now had an inkling of why the famous Italian mage Alberto Ricardo had gifted the Devil-kings with the title that they now were universally known for.

Campione.

 **\V/**

' _I hate fighting regenerators!'_ She all but snarled as Khepri once again emerged completely unscathed after bathing in his golden flames, the limb she had just ripped off his body swiftly disintegrating into golden dust.

Fighting an opponent that simply refused to go down was always a pain, especially if their power was near the upper spectrum of power levels. And the God before her most clearly was in a class of his own.

Most regenerators, even the high end ones, tended to go down if you did enough critical damage fast enough after all, if you managed to overwhelm their regenerative capabilities, removing the head being one of the most effective and widely recognized methods to do so.

But apparently such a minor inconvenience as having his monstrous head tore off from his body was not enough to slow the bug God down.

Taylor had checked, twice.

Not that that particular fact truly surprised her, after all she could literally see the absurd amount of healing energy coursing through the God's body, but even so she had at least expected such a grievous wound to hold Khepri back for longer than a couple of moments or to actually deplete some of his healing power.

But in the end it would seen she would really have to try and implement the plan she had cooked up despite its risks. But then again it wasn't like she really had much choice at this point.

Her time was nearly up. In her mind she could feel as her Authority slowly started to unravel, as if the last sands of an hourglass were slowly falling down until nothing remained.

She had less than two minutes before the Golden Hero would dissipate leaving her completely helpless against a foe that could kill her in mere moments.

Praying that the math she had hastily made mid battle was right she charged forward once more, batting the scarabs away and closing in against Khepri, arms crossed in front of her head in order to better endure the blast of flames hurling towards her.

If she was not mistaken it was well past midnight at this very moment, with only a few minutes remaining before it was one o'clock in the morning. And as she darted forward, grabbing both of Khepri's arms with all her might in order to hold him down, she knew that this possible difference of mere minutes would be what spelt her victory or defeat.

She could not defeat Khepri with physical strength alone, for like her Eternity's Sight had shown her and his regeneration powers had already amply demonstrated, as long as part of his body remained the God would heal back despite any damage taken, no matter how grievous said damage was.

In order to defeat him Taylor would have to somehow overwhelm his extreme regeneration rate, she needed something capable of hitting his entire body at the same time, something her Golden Hero Authority, despite it's incredible physical power, simply could not grant.

In other words, she needed a new power.

She now had mere seconds before her Authority dissipated, leaving her utterly vulnerable, but if she was right, it also meant that in but a matter of moments it would have been eight hours since she touched down near the outskirts of Cairo yesterday, and that was the point upon which her whole plan hinged.

And while she held down the Heretic God, all but ignoring the razor sharp bladed limbs that were hitting against her back, waiting for either her victory or defeat, she decided that the point for second guessing herself was long gone, she was committed.

And with a sudden rush of power she knew that her guess had been spot on, that her gamble had paid off, for exactly eight hours had now passed since she had used the first charge of her Shards of Infinity, and now that charge was once again back up for use.

If physical strength was not enough to defeat her opponent then she would have to try something else, and luckily for her, now she had plenty of options to choose from.

" **From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"**

She all but roared, activating her newly recharged Authority and immediately selecting an Striker power and upping its ranking to the max, a fierce smile firm on her face even as she felt the Golden Hero start to dissipate, hanging back with but a wisp of power as the claws of the swarm all around her started to leave deep scratches upon her skin.

It wouldn't matter that her new power would last only six minutes, after all if she didn't pull this off right now she wouldn't last even one minute longer.

She felt as the power was generated, knowing that this was the last part of her gamble; she needed something capable of destroying Khepri in one blow, but lacked the time to try and influence the choice of the power.

It was time to see if Lady Luck would favor her at least this once.

Not relinquishing her hold on the wildly thrashing Heretic God she felt as her smile grew to truly predatory proportions, immediately pushing her newly generated power right through both of her hands and into the Heretic God's body itself.

Tactile-macro-gravity-kinesis really wasn't what she had been expecting to get from a Striker power, but the ability to freely alter and control the gravity affecting a target she had recently touched would work just fine for her needs, it would work perfectly.

Keeping her hold on her new power even as the scarabs' attacks grew frantic in their intensity she watched as Khepri was crushed from all sides under the almighty push of an unbelievably strong gravity well, his body swiftly compacting into a single point even as his regenerative flames tried to keep up with the damaged caused.

Holding fast against the growingly frantic assault of the swarm she kept her power going, knowing that it was now but a matter of time.

Until with a final bellow of mindless rage and a sickening crushing sound nothing but a small softball sized lump of golden sand remained where once stood the mighty God.

She barely paid noticed as the scarabs stilled into place before dissolving back into the sands that had birthed them, keeping crushing the mass before her into an even smaller form, keeping her new power running even as her body lost its golden tinge and the myriad of scratches and cuts all along her skin made themselves known, slowly staining her clothes with blood.

Not taking any chances, she only let go of the power when nothing but a marble sized ball remained, until not even a trace of the God's power remained and the sandstorm that had been raging all around her finally dissipated, until she was positive that Khepri was finally gone for good.

Letting out a deep relieved sight she all but collapsed backwards into the sands, a relieve smile firmly placed on her face despite the pain from the myriad of cuts littering her skin.

"Now that was something." She mumbled, still feeling slightly light headed due to all the adrenaline coursing through her body.

Now on top of facing super powered psychotic mass murderers, city destroying eldritch monstrosities and a freaking alien supernatural entity, she could now add facing off a literal God in single combat to her list of achievements.

' _My life is weird.'_ A part of her mind could not help but remark, the fact she had done all that before even reaching nineteen years of age only adding to the absurdity that seemed to constitute her life.

Her still ongoing sensing Authority immediately informed her that Anit was swiftly approaching her position, apparently using the same flying trick she had used when they first meet.

"Your Grace, are you alright?!" The Egyptian mage frantically called before even touching down, worried eyes taking in the blood leaking out of her wounds.

"Eh, I've been worse, don't worry about it. You should've definitely seen the other guy." She replied with a tinge of humor while slowly rising to her feet. "And what did I tell you about all that Your Grace nonsense?"

"Sorry." Anit mumbled with an embarrassed smile, but at the same time the slightly amused glint on her eyes showed that she was glad to drop out the formalities as well. "But the fact remains that you are covered in blood tattered clothes and just fought a Heretic God, are you sure you are alright?"

"As I said, don't worry about it." She waved off the mage's concern, after all she hadn't been lying when she said she had been worse, hell during her fight against Scion she had managed to get her whole right arm ripped off her body.

While inwardly mussing that she really seemed to hardly leave a battle unscathed, and that now that she didn't have Panacea around to make sure she didn't die of her wounds she really should try and avoid such situations, she decided that there was no longer any reason to keep her Eternity's Sight going on since things had apparently calmed down. "And what happened to the pencil-pusher and his two bulky friends?"

"He ran away as fast as he could as soon as the Heretic God appeared, and in all likelihood is probably still running." Was the olive skinned woman deadpan reply, amusement clear in her tone of voice.

"Somehow that does not surprise me; he seemed the type to hate getting his hands dirt…" Taylor started to say with dry humor before staggering forward with a sudden cry of pain, hands darting towards her suddenly strongly aching head.

"Taylor?! What is wrong?!" Anit frantically asked while closing in to the distressed God-slayer.

But Taylor could not answer, her whole focus directed at the fact her head felt as if someone had picked a red-hot metal pike and rammed it into her brain. As the price for using her Eternity's Sight Authority to track so many things at once, during a sandstorm of all places, made itself known in the form of a searing migraine.

She knew Anit was saying something, but at the moment she couldn't care less what it was. If this was what Lisa usually felt when she had one of her Thinker headaches after overusing her power then Taylor definitely owed her friend a massive apology for all the times she had bugged the Thinker during one of said episodes.

" **Blessed Sekhmet, lady of life, she who is powerful; grant to this humble servant the gift of thy healing light."**

She more felt than heard the incantation spoken right next to her, the power being evoked managing to grasp her attention despite the pain. But before she could even think about trying to see what was happening she was brought short by the feeling of two small but strong hands grabbing her head and a pair of soft lips meeting her own.

' _The hell?!'_ She thought in utter bewilderment as Anit kissed her on the lips, her confusion and shock only increasing as she felt a sudden warmness permeating her body as her wounds visibly healed before her eyes.

Steeping back from the olive skinned woman, while idly noticing that her migraine had been reduced to manageable levels, she took in the mage sheepish form.

"Is there a reason why you decided to suddenly smooch me?" She asked, her tone of voice as dry as the desert all around them.

"Actually, yes, there is a reason." Anit promptly replied, a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks despite her dark skin color. "Due to their extremely high magical reserves Campione are all but immune to external spell-craft, almost as if their skin itself constitutes a barrier that prevents any magic from affecting them."

"There is only two known ways to bypass this immunity in order to affect the body of a Devil-king, the first is to just overpower said defense, but that is something that only Gods or other Campione can do." She continued in a businesslike tone of voice, clearly having gotten herself back under control.

"The other is accomplished by making the Campione ingest the magic through the mouth and therefore bypassing their skin natural resistance to magic altogether, either through the use of potions or direct contact."

"So the only way that I could heal you was by allowing the spell to pass directly from me to you through our lips, hence the kiss." She finished with a sheepish smile.

After hearing the explanation for the other's actions, and determining that, yes, there was actually a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why someone that she had known for less than an hour had given her a lip lock moments after a duel to the death against a rogue God hell bent on killing them all, Taylor could only formulate a single thought.

' _Yeah, my life is definitely weird.'_

 **\V/**

 **Taylor's Authorities:**

 **Eternity's Sight; Golden Hero; Shards of Infinity. (Scion)**

 **Master of the Sands (Khepri)**

"Come forth guardians of the desert; arise keepers of the wastelands; Heed my call; from the shifting dunes I summon you; emerge I command you; for the billowing sands are my domain!"

An Authority that allows Taylor to summon sand constructs to fight in her behalf. While their individual strength by itself is noteworthy, the sheer number of minions one can summon and the fact that if destroyed they merely turn back to sand, only needing the user to reshape them in order to be ready to fight once again, turns them into a far more serious threat.

The form and shape of said constructs is completely up to the caster's will, but while she has great control over the sand creatures themselves, the Authority only grants minor control over unshaped sand.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

So that concludes Taylor first battle against a Heretic God and her first glimpse of the world she is now residing on, I think it turned pretty well myself, hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

I must admit that I was torn upon which Authority to give to Taylor for slaying Khepri, having already decided that, no matter what, she would get only one since Khepri did not have the same attenuating circumstances Scion had.

In the end it ended up being a contest between the one she got and some form of regeneration like Khepri used in the fight. But in the end I decided that the sand constructs were more in kind with the 'theme' of her Authorities, not to mention that the idea that defeating her cape namesake would, in a way, grant her back her swarm seemed deeply fitting.

For those of you not familiar with Campione, its Canon proclaims that a Devil-king nature affects the authorities he gains from his defeated foes, giving them a kind of 'theme', like for instance, Alec's theme is 'The Thief' and Godou is 'The Warrior'. I wonder if any of you can guess Taylor's 'theme' from her Authorities so far.

In a separate note, did you know that the ancient Egyptians had not one, nor two, but four different God's dedicated to the healing arts? I found this interesting little fact while researching which God Anit would invoke in order to heal Taylor, said Gods being Serket, Isis, Nefertum and Sekhmet.

In the end I chose Sekhmet because she was closely tied to the Pharaohs, being considered one of their protectors besides her powers over healing, so it seemed fitting for the healing of a King of Kings to be done in the name of Sekhmet.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	5. Chapter 5 - Old Age and Treachery

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, for those of you with questions regarding the story, please login before leaving your review, for I normally answer those through PMs, and so I simply cannot answer the questions of guest reviewers appropriately.

Thank you for your understanding.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, I would like to ask for a moment of silence for the passing of an amazing author. **Becuziswrong** author of **'Memories of Iron'** , **'A Propensity for Wrath'** and other such amazing stories has recently passed away.

I was an avid follower of his work, his stories possessing a depth and incredibly well done world building that I couldn't help but admire, and I'm confident in saying that I'm not the only one who thinks he will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, your works shall be remembered.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Old Age and Treachery, Can't Beat a Campione.**

Moving out of the bathroom of her hotel room while absentmindedly toweling her long hair after taking an extremely long shower, Taylor couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment.

For while Anit's spell had indeed healed all of her wounds and even lessened the headache that had been pounding in her head, it had done absolutely nothing about the grit, sand and blood that had been all but covering every inch of her body.

And after spending another hour or so questioning the Egyptian mage regarding more information about the magical world and everything else that was apparently hidden in plain sight by the assorted mage associations, she had been left feeling more than just a little crummy, so the feeling of being clean once again was just about heavenly.

Even if Taylor considered herself to be of the practical sort, forgoing most luxuries in favor of doing what she believed had to be done, she couldn't deny that feeling clean was something that she refused to let go without proper reason.

Thinking about the olive skinned mage that had left to report to her organization what had just happened, Taylor couldn't help but ponder what that would mean to her in the long term.

She was still wrapping her head upon the fact that on this Earth magic was absolutely real, but in the end she knew that she would accept it soon enough after letting her brain simmer on the subject for some time. After all she had already seen far weirder things on her young life.

The fact that she had apparently been reborn as a superhuman being capable of literally defying the will of the Gods themselves was a little harder to swallow, but in the end as they say, seeing is believing, and as her eyes rested upon the golden colored marble that was now resting on her nightstand, a marble that was all that remained of Khepri, alongside the fact that she could feel the faint thrum of her new recently acquired Authority in the back of her mind, made it extremely hard to refute that little fact.

Even thought she felt both those facts were quite curious and more than a little on the weird side, they did not really worry her all that much, she knew she could adapt to them easily enough. What was occupying her mind was the fact that almost all countries had mage organizations operating on the background and controlling things, just like the organization Anit was reporting to at this very moment, the so called Council of the Sands.

Her personal experience with any kind of authority figure, specially large organizations, could be called shaky at best, downright catastrophic at worst, so she was more than a bit wary at the fact that she, as one of the only eight God-slayers currently walking the planet, would undoubtedly be seen as a major asset to be acquired by those in power.

' _Politics.'_ She thought with distaste, all but turning the word into a curse.

She knew that Anit had said that due to their power Devil-kings were pretty much given free rein to do whatever they desired as long as they fought off Heretic Gods, being pretty much common sense that angering someone that could squish you like a bug was a bad idea.

But the truth remained that she knew that there would be inevitably those that would believe themselves smart enough to try and control a Campione in order to further their own goals or gain political power, thinking themselves above any possible fallout.

After all, if there was something her near nineteen years of life had managed to teach her, it was that common sense was, incredibly enough, anything but common.

' _Like Einstein once wisely said, only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.'_ She though with a hint of amusement, knowing from personal experience just how right that saying was.

Sitting at the front of the laptop that had been provided with the room, there were definite benefits on splurging a little on an upper class hotel, and it was not as if she was in need of money what with her little excursion before facing Khepri, she powered it on intending on continuing her earlier research.

Upon finding out that an unaffiliated, recently reborn, Campione was upon their territory the so called Council of the Sands was bound to make a move to try and ensnare her into their area of influence, that was a given.

For to do so would greatly increase their own power and reputation, both locally and globally, and she was certain that the promise of power would be more than enough to blind quite a few idiots to what logic would dictate was the best course of action.

That knowledge was only reinforced by the fact that while she had gotten a very positive first impression from Anit, the mage herself could barely hide her contempt for her bosses and the Council she apparently served.

Her main weakness at the moment was how very little she knew about the supernatural side of this world, a fact that she knew others would try and exploit.

And while she doubted that she would be able to find anything truly important on the internet, now that she knew exactly what she was looking for she knew that the Thinker powers she could give herself would be able to glean a lot more information than what she had first obtained. So it was time for a research binge.

' _Like Lisa loved to say, knowledge is power.'_ She idly though even as she opened her mouth to invoke her powers.

" **From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"**

Selecting a Thinker power she decided that for this the duration of the ability would be far more important than sheer strength, so setting the power ranking at level four, ensuring she would be able to use it for forty two minutes, she started to search for something useful.

It was slightly annoying how random this Authority could apparently be, forcing her to search power after power for what she needed, some of the powers being offered showing her how lucky she had been at drawing that gravity manipulation power when battling Khepri.

After all why would the Authority even think that a Thinker power that showed her the elemental composition, down to the molecular level, of the things she was seeing was something she would ever need?

Slightly shaking her head she couldn't help but feel that she had been truly fortunate that chance had favored her with something capable of taking the Heretic God down in her moment of need.

' _Well either that, or just like the Entities Shards the Authority responds best while under conflict scenarios.'_ She mused, making a mental note to try and check out that particular possibility at a later date.

Stopping at a power than would dramatically increase her deduction capabilities and her logical reasoning she turned to the computer on the desk.

It was time to see if she could fill a few of the gaps in her knowledge.

 **\V/**

She had been researching for over half an hour, using every single scrap of information she could find to fuel her power in order to obtain even more information, rinse and repeat, when a knock on the door of her room broke her concentration.

Slightly annoyed she turned to see who it was and if she could get rid of them quickly so that she could return to what she had just found out, the fact that apparently England had two directly competing magical organizations was something that she wanted to try and delve deeper before her power was up.

Opening the door all thoughts regarding England's apparent secret magical feud were immediately pushed out of her mind, as she took in Anit and the two other men standing out of her room's door.

Looking at the sharply dressed silver-blond haired man standing between the two others, a serene affable smile on his face, her still active power immediately started feeding her information.

' _Used to power, used to command, high ranking member of the Council; Confident, arrogant, believes himself superior to others, believes himself superior to me; Knows about my lack of magical knowledge, believes that he can use that lack of knowledge to gain control over me; Sees others as mere tools to further his own ends; Untrustworthy.'_

"Yes, can I help you?" Taylor asked putting forth her best public relations smile, while inwardly fighting to contain the massive smirk that was threatening to appear on her face as her power kept feeding her more and more information with every moment that passed.

With her deductive power still running strong the timing of the Council for this little meeting could not have been better.

Looking at the younger black haired, kindly smiling man wearing apparently common but obviously expensive clothing she allowed her power to run wild, gleaming everything she could about him.

' _Perfect balance, ready stance, trained fighter; Slight hidden bulges spread throughout his clothing, hidden weapons; Knows how to use weapons, has killed before, trained killer; Deferential body language towards the first man, subordinate to the first man, utterly loyal to his master; Assessing my form for potential threats, sees me as an objective, has a mission regarding me, plans to gain my trust, plans to join my service; Untrustworthy, dangerous.'_

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce myself. I am Zaliki Abubakar member of the council of the humble magic organization that oversees Egypt, and this is my companion Abasi Ubaid and of course you already know Anit Khalfani." He said in a polite friendly tone, gesturing first to his kindly smiling minion and then to Anit's politely smiling form.

Turning her gaze towards the woman that had helped her in the aftermath of her battle she decided to see what else she could learn, calmly tuning out Zaliki's ramblings about what an honor it was for them that she was currently upon their country she got to work.

' _Fake smile, stiff body language, uncomfortable with current situation; Doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to serve the Council; Facing pressure by her family, facing possible punishment due to her actions during the recent crisis, being used as a bridge with me so that to help gain my trust due to her help healing me; Does not trust other two, does not respect them; Respects me for my actions regarding Khepri; Trustworthy.'_

' _Well isn't that interesting?'_ She inwardly mused, her face still serenely smiling as Zaliki rambled on and on. She could easily see what the Council was planning, her still ongoing power feeding her more information with every line that was spoken. The Council was planning on putting one of their personal pawns in a position where it could watch and subtly direct her movements, but now how best to thwart said plans?

She would like to avoid a direct confrontation if at all possible at this particular time, but the fact remained that no matter how much in need she was of information, or how shaky her standing upon this Earth was at the moment, there was no way she was allowing the black haired man, Abasi, to remain within even thirty meters of her person.

But if she were to directly refuse their offer of service not only would she probably make an enemy out of the Council, but she would also appear weak, and that was not a helpful image to cultivate, especially this early in the game.

"…and so in thanks of the services you have granted to the whole of Egypt by dealing with the recent threat in such a magnificent manner, the Council has decided to grant you a gift in order to further aid you, in the form of giving you one of our most talented practitioners." He magnanimously declared, stopping for a moment for dramatic effect.

Seeing that, she had to fight down the urge to allow the smirk she had felt earlier to resurface and grow to truly predatory proportions. The pompous fool need for dramatics had just given her a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

"Very well I shall accept this gift from the Council, carry to them my thanks for such prompt assistance." She regally replied, eyes shining with mirth as her power feed her Zaliki's triumphant body language, it was time to show him she was not to be trifled with.

"Anit Khalfani, you showed great courage and dedication during the recent crisis, I hope you shall show equal care and diligence while under my service." She continued on, a hint of the smirk she was still fighting down appearing on her face as she took in Zaliki's slight widening of his eyes and Anit's gobsmacked expression.

"You may enter my abode; there is much we have to discuss." She commanded with an imperious tone of voice. "If there is nothing else, you two are dismissed."

"W-wait Your Grace, if this humble servant could be allowed to speak, Anit is not the…"

"Enough! I grow weary of this meeting; I desire to consult with my servant before finally retiring for the night, leave and carry my thanks to the Council, now go." She cut him off in her best Alexandria impersonation, giving him a stare that all but shouted that he was beneath her notice and should better leave before her patience was lost and she crushed him like a bug.

With his pause he had created a situation where he had offered her a servant but not named said servant, allowing her to take the initiative and choose one of her own from the 'selection' he had brought forth, and now he couldn't back down or the Council itself would appear weak or untrustworthy.

Not waiting to see his reaction she turned around, leading a shocked looking Anit into her room before closing the door in the face of the two equally baffled men.

' _Take refuge in audacity, make it look like you know what you are doing, and everyone else will believe that to be the truth.'_

She fondly remembered that little pearl of wisdom Faultline had given her in the aftermath of Leviathan's attack, and while she couldn't help but question most of the mercenary cape's actions, that little piece of advice had helped her a lot in the following months. Now it was no different.

Anit had apparently overcome her momentary shock if the look of evaluating appraisal she was giving Taylor was anything to go by. Giving the mage an slightly apologetic look, after all, for all intents and purposes Taylor's actions had turned the woman into her servant, she made a gesture towards the door before moving a finger to her lips and raising an eyebrow in question.

The Egyptian mage had shown quite some versatility with her spell work up to this point, and it was her hope that she would have something that would allow them to talk without worry of the two men outside overhearing, since Taylor really didn't want to use her remaining charge for such an action.

Thankfully Anit both seemed to understand what Taylor meant with her little game of charades and apparently had something that could be used, for she immediately started to chant.

" **Silent Meretseger, She who is on her mountain, safeguard us from all those who would pry upon our secrets."**

Watching curiously as a faint emerald sheen seemed to permeate the walls all around them, Taylor finally allowed the mischievous grin she had been holding back to appear.

"I take that the egomaniac outside and his pet assassin won't be able to hear us now?" She simply asked, highly amused as Anit seemed to choke on air for a moment upon hearing her words. "What is up with big organizations and their love for shadowy deals anyway?"

"Managed to notice that did you?" Anit finally managed to say, a small grin appearing on her face. "But if you managed to see past their little ruse, then why did you take me into your service? For all you know I may well be a spy too."

Letting out an amused huff Taylor moved towards her bed, grabbing one of its pillows before moving towards the closet.

"Please, I may not have even a single clue when it comes to all this magic stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't know about human nature or the seedier aspects of life. And having quite a useful Authority also doesn't hurt." She lightly said, opening the closet and rummaging around it until finding a blanket.

"I know you despise both those idiots and most of the Council too. That your family forced you into your current path and that you were going to be punished for 'disobeying' your superiors latter on."

"I couldn't simply refuse the Council 'gracious' offer without appearing weak and making an enemy, but hell if I was going to willingly allow a viper to stay that close to me. You are trustworthy, competent, and highly unsatisfied with your now past employer." She continued while moving towards Anit's surprised form.

"Claiming you makes it seen as if I'm allowing the Council some leeway while at the same time not compromising me ,all the while allowing me access to an competent mage from what I've seen so far, and not to mention allowing you out of the tight spot you where in, a win-win no matter how you look at it." She finished with an impish smile, placing both the blanket and the pillow upon the mage's hands.

"So now that you are my loyal minion and all that whatnot, what do you say that we continue that impromptu crash course to the magical world we had started after I took Khepri down?" Taylor half joked, moving to sit on the bed. "By the way you are sleeping on the couch."

Not even trying to fight down the startled laugh that emerged from her throat Anit moved towards said piece of furniture intending on fixing it so she could lay down. "You are a sneaky little schemer aren't you? I guess this job is going to be interesting if nothing else."

"Oh you have no idea." She replied, thinking of the time she and the rest of the Undersiders had all but taken control of the underworld of her home city of Brockton Bay.

"What's in this thing?" Anit mumbled while lifting the heavy duffel bag that had been placed above the couch.

"A few hundred thousand Egyptian pounds." Was Taylor's nonchalant reply from her spot on the bed.

"What?!" Anit shouted, all but dropping the duffel bag. She gave the Campione a look, as if asking if she was serious, before opening the bag's zipper in order to confirm that, yes, the heavy bag was indeed filled to the brim with money.

Noticing the flabbergasted look entering the olive skinned woman's features at the sight of her re-appropriated funds, Taylor felt an mischievous impulse form deep within and, after a moment's thought, decided to let her inner Aisha out to play a little.

"By the way, I'm in need of a few documents, you don't happen to know a good forger do you? " She nonchalantly asked, a calm serene look fixed upon her face, as if she had just asked about the weather.

Watching the confused, bewildered and slightly skeptical gaze Anit was giving her, Taylor managed to keep a serious face for all of a minute before letting out a burst of laugher.

Giving the laughing Devil-king clutching her stomach a deadpan glare, Anit shook her head before starting to fix the blanket upon the couch.

"This is definitely going to be an interesting job." She mumbled, a hint of a smile appearing beneath her faux offended look.

 **\V/**

Opening her eyes Taylor immediately jumped up to her feet, the white featureless surroundings pushing her instincts into overdrive as she noticed she was no longer in her hotel room.

Knees bent, ready to launch her forward if there was the need and arms raised in front of her body in case of an attack, she took in the completely white misty landscape, downright unnerved.

" **There is no need for such alarm you know; nothing can harm you here after all."** A calm motherly voice said from right behind her.

Twisting around with a start Taylor took in the appearance of her apparent kidnapper. A young looking woman on a white dress, long light purple hair, a pair of purple motherly eyes and a proud gentle smile finished her appearance

All in all the woman looked completely harmless but Taylor did not drop her guard even for an instant despite that, she knew far too well that being cute did not stop someone from being deadly, Bonesaw being the perfect example of it.

" **Hmph, calm down already will you. Why must all of my children be so difficult?"** The woman bemoaned in a playful manner.

"Who are you, and where are we?" Taylor demanded, even as she acknowledged a strange sense that she had already seen this woman, that her voice was somehow familiar.

" **I am the all giving woman, Pandora, but if you want to, feel free to call me Mom, it's a pleasure seeing you again Taylor."** She said while giving a small playful curtsy.

Taylor immediately linked the name to the information that Anit had given her earlier, that the Devil-kings were the sons and daughters of the Witch Pandora, who resurrected them as Campione.

Not a moment after she made the connection she remembered their first meeting, how the young looking woman had comforted her when she had been on the verge of death, right before reincarnating her as a Campione due to her victory over Scion, and what she had called the woman moments before waking up in the desert.

Turning crimson with embarrassment she averted her eyes, body relaxing slightly amidst Pandora's bell like laughter.

" **Ah so you do remember our last meeting!"** She cheerfully said, all but skipping towards Taylor's embarrassed form. **"So many of my children barely seen able to remember me, it's a little infuriating really."**

" **But not only did you remember, you even came to visit! Such a good dutiful daughter!"** She happily exclaimed, enthusiastically hugging Taylor's left arm, increasing the young Campione's embarrassment even more.

" **As for your other question, we are in the Netherworld, the boundary between life and immortality, though I think that it's a little shy at present, what with all the mysterious endless white expanse thing it got going on right now."**

Looking at the laughing carefree woman hanging from her arm Taylor was having a really hard time reconciling her with the image of the extremely powerful True God that Anit had described.

"It was you that reincarnated me as a Campione, wasn't it?" She asked, a serious look entering her features.

" **Indeed! And my choice has already proven itself the right one! You did an excellent job dealing with Khepri, perhaps now that misbehaving child will learn some manners!"** Pandora confirmed, daintily raising a hand to cover her laughter.

Removing the arm that was still grabbing her, Taylor took a step back and stared the immortal woman straight in the eyes before bowing her head.

"Thank you." She sincerely stated, her words filled with gratitude. "If not for you I would no longer be alive, and for that, for saving me, you have my thanks."

Even if she had been willing to sacrifice her life in order to stop Scion, that did not mean that she hadn't wished to stay alive, to keep enjoying all the wonders contained in the world, and the fact that the woman standing before her had allowed that to happen made her feel a debt towards her.

" **It was my pleasure to aid one such as you, Taylor."** Pandora said, her voice without a hint of her usual playful tone as she gently lifted the Campione's head. **"There is no need for thanks."**

Looking at the dazzling smile Pandora was sporting and the proud motherly gaze being given to her, Taylor couldn't help but smile in kind.

" **I really enjoyed our talk my dear child, but alas, it would seen our time is nearly up."** She pouted as she spied something from above the Campione's shoulder, even if when Taylor turned around to see what it was all that her eyes gazed upon was a white void.

" **Since you are such a good dutiful child I think I shall give you a little hint! A Heretic God will soon strike upon the proud city of Alexandria, and you are the closest of my children to there. So if you hurry up you can possibly avert the coming disaster."**

"What?!" Taylor asked, wariness filling her voice, but even as she spoke white mist seemed to be slowly filling up her vision.

" **Head north my child that's all that I can tell you at this moment and good luck."** The all giving woman seriously stated, before a large playful smile came back into her features. **"And do come back to visit when you are done, I truly do enjoy receiving visitors!**

 **\V/**

Jumping straight out of her bed, the sound of bell like laughter still filling her ears, Taylor tried to remember the dream she had just had.

Proud purple eyes and a caring motherly smile, a familiar face bearing some kind of message, a sense of urgency, that she had to be somewhere, and amidst it all a single name resounding throughout her mind, Alexandria.

"Damn, what got into you?" Anit mumbled still half asleep from her perch upon the couch.

Ignoring the question she tried to remember anything else, but it was all already fading away, as if mist upon the light of the dawn, but the sense of urgency, that she had to be someplace else as soon as possible, remained.

Looking towards the north she pondered this feeling, wondering for a moment if whatever this was could possibly be a trap.

But in the end she decided to trust her instincts, and they were saying to her in no uncertain terms that she should head north. Nodding her head she left the bed and started packing her things under the bemused stare of the Egyptian mage.

"Anit you better get up and start to get ready, also if there is anything you want to take with us say it now so that we can go and pick it up, we are heading out north right after breakfast." She stated while grabbing a new change of clothes.

"Wait, what? North, north where?" Anit asked as she slowly got out of her makeshift bed.

"Alexandria." Taylor simply stated while starting to move towards the bathroom.

"And why are we going to Alexandria in such a hurry?" She curiously asked, clearly wondering what was happening.

Stopping for a moment, Taylor tried to put into words why she felt such an urgent need to head to the ancient port city, but only managed to grasp pieces and fragments of it, like a dream of a dream.

Looking at the woman expecting gaze, she finally decided upon telling the truth, after all if Anit was to trust her, then she herself would have to show the mage some trust in kind.

"You know, I really have no idea."

Taking a moment to appreciate Anit's open mouthed perplexed look, Taylor turned around and closed the bathroom door right behind her.

But even through the thick wooden door she was still able to clearly hear Anit's shocked shouted response.

"What?!"

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

You know one of the few things that irked me in the original Campione was how Godou immediately trusted the History Compilation Committee, Japan's mage organization, without any reservation and how hands free he was with them; and considering some reviews I have received since starting this fic I'm not the only one.

First and foremost let me make it clear that I have nothing against Godou, I love him as a character, both his actions and his morals, or his hidden deviousness. But truth be told, I always felt he was way too trusting in regards to what amounted to a centuries old shadowy magical secret order whose members regularly used mind altering powers to keep the populace ignorant in regards to the supernatural.

After all, even if the powers of a Campione should cower most people, there will always be those that will believe themselves above such things and try to obtain some kind of advantage despite all common sense saying that's a bad idea, that's just human nature.

So that's why Taylor is facing a more realistic magical organization, one that upon seeing a newly reborn, and in their eyes naïve and inexperienced, Campione within their grasp tried to put Taylor under their influence.

Pity for them that Taylor is anything but naïve or inexperienced.

Rest assured, not all members of the Council will be sleaze-balls or idiots, but considering Taylor's innate distrust of authority figures, I thought it would be interesting to make her not have a good first impression of the Council since it would create a great initial setup for latter plot development.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	6. Chapter 6 - Uncertain Tidings

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, I realized I never answered what is Taylor's 'Theme' in the last chapter's ANs, so here it is: Taylor/Skitter is a genius combat tactician in Canon Worm, excelling in battlefield tactics, literally administrating the battlefield and creating strategies on the fly, all the while leading her 'troops' to victory against foes that far outstripped her in sheer power.

And so her Theme is 'The Commander', she who leads her troops in battle and through her tactics and strategies achieves victory. (You could also call it the General or the Tactician, since they carry pretty similar meanings to what I'm implying, but personally I prefer the Commander.)

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Uncertain Tidings**

Looking at the tall proud buildings of the ancient coastal city of Alexandria and taking a moment to appreciate the impressive sights standing all around her, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her face, the golden marble she had claimed from Khepri shining upon the sun from its place around her neck where she was wearing it as a necklace, Taylor idly wondered if she would ever be able to travel anyplace without the lingering reason of having to face some kind of monstrous threat that was waiting at her destination.

Remembering how her last few trips back on Earth-bet had ended, while also taking into account the fact that so far her visit to Egypt in this Earth had already led to one death match, and adding the feeling of looming urgency that had led her to come to Alexandria, she morosely concluded that it wasn't likely.

"So the city appears to be still standing, any other sudden mysterious feelings coming forth from the ether in order to drag us off in the crack of dawn to parts unknown?" Anit sarcastically enquired, clearly still slightly annoyed by the fact that she had been forced to hastily pack her belongings right after sunrise in order to follow Taylor to the ancient city.

Instead of immediately replying the young Campione took a moment to search her instincts, noticing that while the feeling of urgency remained, she felt not even a whisper of any desire to move away.

"No, we are exactly where we need to be." Taylor stated with a conviction that she did not truly understand but fully accepted as fact.

For even if all she had to go on was a fragment of a dream, a half remembered warning given by someone she suspect might be Pandora, and her own instincts, she knew better than to simply dismiss it out of hand.

Yes, it probably looked like a wild goose chase when viewed from an outside perspective, after all one would think that if Pandora wanted a warning given she would at least try and make sure the listener remembered the full warning in the first place.

But having met more than enough precogs during her time as a 'Cape', she knew that such things as prophecies and warnings regarding the future were notoriously unhelpful just like that, it was pretty much a fact of life, even if she inwardly believed said precogs did their level best to be vague simply for the sake of being annoying.

"You aren't a Seer are you?" Anit wonderingly asked, the sheer conviction in the Campione's words making her truly ponder about the validity of their journey.

"Not at the moment." She nonchalantly replied, idly musing that with her Shards of Infinity Authority and the right selection of powers, she might in fact actually be able to pull up a very convincing Seer act.

Smiling at the deadpan look the other woman was giving her, Taylor grabbed her bags before moving out towards a nice looking hotel down the street.

"Come on, let's get some rooms and put our luggage away, I think we still have some time before whatever is going to happen happens."

This would also probably allow her more than enough time to track down someone capable of fixing her current documentation issues, after all, Alexandria being a port city meant that it would be even easier to find people with the skill set she required to get the job done than it would have been in Cairo.

' _Some things simply never change.'_ She mused, thinking that no matter the reality, people would still always be people, both the good and the bad.

 **\V/**

Deep beneath the waves, lurking amidst the darkness of the abyssal depths, of places where the sun warm light would never reach, a massive being swiftly swan towards her destination.

After years of slumber she had been finally awakened by the call of that which had been stolen from her lair, the fury and rage the theft had caused her still as strong as it had been that day so long ago.

And how she had raged, her fury destroying all in her path until nothing remained, creating a swath of destruction and despair on her wake, as she chased the one who had the temerity of stealing from her.

Her wrath upon discovering that the thief had escaped her grasp, leaving her domain far behind to never return, had made the very oceans quake with the intensity of her ire.

But eventually she had returned to the depths, her fury unabated and unrelenting, for she did not forgive, she did not forget. And so she had patiently waited amidst her dreamless slumber, knowing that that which was rightfully hers wound eventually returned to her domain.

And now she could finally feel its calling presence, she could feel it, lingering just beyond the deeps, taunting her at the very edge of her domain. She could once again hear the siren song of that which she desired, and this time nothing would stop her from reclaiming it.

Her fury had not been diminished by the years that had passed while she kept her silent vigil, and now that the moment had finally come for her to take her vengeance she would make sure that nothing remained in her path.

Entering into the waters of the Mediterranean with speeds that no sea creature could ever achieve, the gargantuan monstrosity allowed her bloodlust to permeate the very waves all around her, her massive maw opening in anticipation.

Soon she would be feasting upon the flesh and blood of those foolhardy enough to claim that which was rightfully hers, soon she would be able to savor the sweet flavor of death and despair.

Soon the world would once again remember her wrath.

 **\V/**

"I can't believe it was that easy." Anit stated, a deep uneasy feeling entering her words, troubled eyes locked upon Taylor's hands.

The origin of her unease being the complete, official looking, professionally made, set of fake documents the Eight Campione was now calmly inspecting with an air of approval.

"Fake documents are not something you should be able to simply stroll somewhere and grab a handful as if they were some novelty item in a store!" She exclaimed, eyes never wandering from the source of her current distress.

"I mean, seriously, it took what, four hours from leaving the hotel to you pinpointing where that forger worked and getting the documents made? And that's considering the fact you insist you have never been to Alexandria before!" She continued her rant; the fact the whole ordeal had been done without even a hint of supernatural influence or magical powers only managing to unnerve the mage even more.

"People will be people no matter where they live Anit." Taylor calmly replied while checking her new passport and deeming it a pretty decent work. "If you learn the rules that control the underworld of one big city, you have learned the rules to them all. To those knowing what signs to look for that guy was practically advertising his services with a neon sign."

"And you know the specifics of how organized crime operates in large cities how exactly?" She asked the young Campione in a deadpan tone of voice. "You can't be older than twenty after all."

"I spent my late teenage years as the supreme warlord of all organized crime upon my hometown. And I'm turning nineteen this year if you must know." She calmly explained, as if simply stating an unimportant fact, while also distractedly putting her new documents away.

"No, really, how do you know all this stuff?" Anit asked after letting out a disbelieving grunt, clearly not believing the dryly spoken statement.

Shrugging her shoulders while idly wondering how the olive skinned woman would react to the rest of her, assuredly absurd, life if she were ever to tell the whole truth to her, Taylor started looking for a way to pass the time until whatever she was waiting for finally happened.

After all, becoming one of the warlords of the bay alongside the rest of the Undersiders was positively tame when compared to their latter clashes with the Slaughterhouse Nine, tangling with the Protectorate, joining the Protectorate after killing one of its founding members, battling Behemoth and the other Endbringers, fighting against and latter alongside a shadowy organization without morals hell bent on saving the world no matter the cost, or facing down Scion alongside Eidolon with an army of Parahuman thralls and the help of the Endbringers themselves of all things.

"It's a legacy of a misspent youth." She only half joked, gaining an annoyed huff from Anit for her troubles.

"Hey what do you think about visiting Alexandria's national museum? I heard a lot of good things regarding its exhibits, and since we are already here…" She trailed of leadingly, giving the olive skinned woman an expectant look.

"Oh why not." Anit grumbled, still slightly annoyed by Taylor apparently tall tale answers. "If I remember it right they even opened a new exhibit recently, and all reviews say that its center piece is a true sight to behold."

Walking back to the main thoroughfares as they left behind the seedier parts of town, Taylor signaled a passing taxi while giving her companion an interested look.

"Really, what is it then?" She enquired while entering the cab.

"A gigantic blue pearl recently donated from a personal collection, the so called 'Ocean's Orb'."

 **\V/**

Taylor could literally feel the history all but radiating from the magnificent artifacts that were inside the many display cases within the museum.

Exquisite works and ancient relics, all protected behind their glass shields, silent witnesses of many of mankind's greatest civilizations, all preserved for the future.

Watching an ancient scroll covered in hieroglyphs she could feel a rueful smile appearing on her face. She loved history; it was one of the many dangers of having a university teacher for a mother, alongside having all the classics of literature read to you long before they could ever be asked as school projects.

And yet it had been years since she had visited a museum, years since she had done anything even close to something this normal.

"Come on, the new exhibit is this way. That scroll is no different from the dozen others we have already looked at on the way here." Anit said, all but dragging Taylor away from the display case, the Egyptian woman having apparently long since grown inured to her own country's relics.

Truthfully speaking the young Campione could not blame her companion for her enthusiasm in regards to the museum newest exhibit, after all the pictures of the translucent blue pearl had made the jewel look simply amazing.

Entering a heavily guarded room alongside dozens of other tourists Taylor could feel her breath being taken away. The aptly named 'Ocean's Orb' definitely lived up to all the hype about it.

A perfectly round naturally formed blue tinged pearl the size of a coconut sat upon a velvet cushion behind an obviously reinforced display case, an iridescent light seeming to glow from within the translucent azure depths of the magnificent object.

She knew that naturally formed perfectly spherical pearls were rare, that the larger ones were even rarer, and that the ones to reach the size of the one she was looking at right at this moment were so rare to be practically unheard off.

The fact that it possessed a light blue tinge of all things probably raised its value from simply astronomical, to downright ludicrous.

' _This would have been stolen so many times back home that it wouldn't even be funny.'_ She idly thought as she appreciated the exquisite natural wonder sitting in front of her.

She hadn't even known it was possible for a pearl to be anything but pale white, and the inner light it seemed to radiate gave to its already magnificent appearance an even more powerful allure.

Point in fact now that she stopped to think about it, the blue light that it radiated seemed to be slightly stronger than it had been mere moments ago.

Carefully analyzing the object in front of her while calmly tuning off the tour guide explaining its history, Taylor concluded that it really wasn't a mere trick of the light, the shine the pearl was giving off was slowly intensifying, its glow already being slightly too strong for it be a mere reflection from the lights above.

"Anit, correct me if I'm wrong, but does it seen to you like the pearl is glowing a little too strongly for it to be natural?" She asked her companion, wanting a second opinion in regards to the phenomenon.

"What do you mean about glowing too strongly to be nat…" She trailed off, noticing the same thing Taylor had just noticed. "Yes, this is most definitely not natural."

"I thought so." The Eight Campione calmly stated, moving towards one of the rooms large windows in order to get a better sight of the magnificent view of the city's harbor, her sharp eyes immediately noticing what could be a problem. "And now I think I may know why we are here."

"Really, why is that?" Anit curiously asked, still analyzing the shining blue pearl and trying to figure out why its glow had intensified all of a sudden.

"Unless I am greatly mistaken, the weather forecast had predicted clear skies for the rest of the week, didn't it?" Taylor asked in the same even calm tone of voice.

"Why yes it did. Why do you ask?" The Egyptian mage idly asked, still engrossed by the strange phenomenon in front of her.

"Because I'm looking, at this very moment, at a massive storm front, that is all but rushing towards the city straight from the sea." She deadpanned, her words bringing Anit straight to her side, wide eyes taking in the uncommon weather.

"You think this is why you had to come here." Anit stated more than asked, eliciting a small nod of confirmation from Taylor.

"Want to bet that whatever is causing that is after the pretty shiny oversized marble over there?" She asked half joking, steel slowly entering her eyes as she took in the quickly growing storm in the horizon.

"That's a suckers bet and you know it." Was the mage flippant reply, her own eyes also taking a hard tint as she analyzed the swiftly approaching storm.

"Guess vacation time is over." Taylor murmured, moving towards an apparently normal looking tourist that was taking photographs of the many pieces being displayed inside the room and roughly dragging him towards the window.

"W-what do you think you are doing?!" He nervously asked, not fighting her grip in the slightest. "Please let me go before I'm forced to call security and…"

"Cut the act, I'm really not in the mood for this kind of nonsense right now." Taylor barked out, hard eyes glowering down at the man. "You and the other two tails standing outside stalking skills are downright pathetic, so shut up and pay attention."

Anit stopped midstride as she had been about to intervene and demand Taylor to explain what she thought she was doing, now searching eyes taking in the man that had been dragged before her.

"I I don't know what you…" The now profusely sweating man tried to say, only to be immediately cut off by the Campione calmly holding his shirt in one hand.

"I told you to cut out the act! I need you to contact your so called Council of The Sands and demand them to initiate whatever alarms and contingencies they have for supernatural disasters, or haven't you realized yet what's happening at sea?"

With that she spun around, all but shoving the man at the window, allowing him to take with wide eyes the steadly darkening horizon and the swiftly approaching storm, before letting go of her hold on him

He stared open mouthed for a moment, before clearly gathering his wits and giving a deferential bow to the Campione standing by his side.

"Right away Your Grace, it shall be done." He nervously but confidently stated before all but running away from the room, stooping near a couple that had been looking at some exhibits down the corridor before all three of them immediately rushed off.

"How did you notice they were tailing us?" Anit could not help but ask, giving Taylor a slightly wondering look.

Allowing a small rueful grin to appear on her face despite the steel still glittering on her eyes as she remembered all the crazy Master/Stranger protocols she had learned as a member of the Wards, alongside her own experience with stalking targets while remaining unnoticed, she answered with a self depreciating chuckle.

"Let's just say that I didn't live the most normal of lives up to this point, okay?"

 **\V/**

Standing atop a large warehouse near the sea, looking at the raging waves crashing against the city's harbor as the storm intensified with every moment that passed, her Eternity's Sight already active and tracking every single one of the heavy drops of rain that were relentlessly battering against her silently awaiting form, steel in her eyes as she waited for the beast that was swiftly approaching to make landfall, Taylor could not help but remember a far too similar situation from her not so distant past.

Back then it too had been raining torrentially, dark storm clouds covering the horizon, the furious sea attempting to engulf everything with its massive waves, while she waited for the incoming threat to rise from the depths and strike her hometown.

She remembered far too well her first battle against an Endbringer, how small and helpless it had made her feel, how even with an veritable army of parahumans working side by side, both heroes and villains alike setting their differences aside in order to combat a far greater threat, they had barely managed to drive the beast off.

And now once again here she stood, eyes locked at the raging sea, adrenaline pumping through her veins, as she waited for her foe to arise from within his watery domain, as she stood between its bloodlust and a city full of innocents.

The similarities were truly uncanny, but there were also major diverging points.

Gone was the inexperienced and doubtful young teenager that she had once been, gone was the wide eyed youth that had stared at one of humanity's greatest foes with fearful eyes as she attempted to help as best as she could in protecting her city.

She had seen the true horrors that lurked beneath the façade of everyday life, she had seen the monsters that preyed upon humanity, and she had faced those very same eldritch monstrosities in battle more than once.

And while before she had stood as simply one amidst many, now she stood alone as the threat approached.

"The evacuation of the port and seaside areas of the city is nearly complete." Anit reported as she touched down beside her in the rooftop, a determined look upon her face despite the raging storm all around then. "Also, some of the best long range sensors of the Council were able to confirm that whatever it is, it's definitely a Heretic God, even if they cannot tell anything else regarding its identity at this moment."

' _Well, perhaps not exactly alone.'_ She thought with a hint of fondness, the more she saw of the Egyptian mage, the more she realized her newest follower had a core of true steel underneath her polite exterior.

"Good, make sure that there is no one even near the shoreline." Taylor said, giving Anit a small nod of acknowledgment. "If the waves we are seeing get any stronger, and I'm betting they will, anyone that stands too close to the water will be carried away in a heartbeat."

"Did you get it like I asked?" She questioned without averting her eyes from the raging seas, seeking confirmation even though her sensing Authority had already all but confirmed it to her, Anit silently offering a small backpack as an answer, Taylor nodding in kind while swiftly strapping it to her own back.

Analyzing the situation at hand she kept strategizing for the battle to come, considering possibilities and discarding plans, all the while taking into account that her Golden Hero Authority would be useless to her at this confrontation due to the fact that the two days cooling down period the Authority demanded hadn't yet passed, more than twenty hours still remaining before she could use it again.

That still left her with her Shards of Infinity, Eternity's Sight and her newly acquired Master of The Sands, but while her Infinity's Sight was extremely useful and already in effect, it was purely a support type power, lacking any kind of direct offensive capability, and while she could easily see that the power she had acquired by defeating Khepri could be extremely useful in a fight, it also lacked the kind of finishing power she had needed to win her last battle.

All in all she knew that once again her trump card would end up boiling down to her Shards of Infinity, which thankfully was fully charged. Three charges, three powers, that once selected would spell either victory or defeat depending on her choices regarding them and whatever foe that was lurking beneath the crushing waves.

It was obvious that whatever God was fast approaching held the ocean as its domain, but until she could see it for herself and get more information, any plan she could make would be shaky at best.

Her train of thought was cut short as a massive tidal wave crashed against the far off shore, a gigantic form riding alongside the rushing waters into the city's harbor.

Taylor could see its gargantuan form rising from the raging sea, its long dark scaled sinuous body coiling around the boats in the harbor, its massive fanged maw, which looked large enough to easily swallow a horse whole, parted open, steam apparently drifting from within its cavernous depths

It was some sort of massive sea serpent, over two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, its powerful muscles easily crushing the large steel freighters docked on the port as if they were made of tinfoil and, as it raised its head high in order to turn its shining blue eyes to look towards the city, jaws opened wide as it let loose a bestial roar, the young Campione could feel its hunger and bloodlust permeating the very air all around them.

"Anit what the hell is it?" Taylor demanded, eyes relentlessly searching her opponent's massive form for possible weaknesses to exploit.

"It's the biblical beast Leviathan, the twisted whale, lord of envy!" Anit immediately proclaimed as she took a step back, easily recognizing the gargantuan biblical sea monster. "He is…"

' _It's official, the universe IS screwing with me.'_ An unhelpful part of her mind could not help but think even as she took in the monstrous sea beast imposing form, even as she stopped Anit's explanation before it could even start.

"Let me guess, he's a macro-hydrokinetic capable of causing massive tsunamis and storms, is extremely strong and resilient and can move at impossibly fast speeds while underwater, oh, and can probably form some kind of water afterimage when it moves. Is that about right?" She dryly asked, unminding of the very confused look her companion was now sporting.

Taking in her new foe for a long moment with an extreme sense of déjà-vu, before finally letting out a tired sigh, Taylor could not help but question if the universe had some form of a sense of humor.

And if that was the case, if it could possibly be out to get her or something, for it would definitely explain a lot in regards to all the weirdness that seemed to constitute her life.

Shaking her head free of such unhelpful thoughts she hardened her resolve, steely determination shining from within her eyes.

"Alright beastie." She firmly stated, determination filling her being as she ignored the raging storm battering her body. "It's time for round two."

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

So here it is, Taylor second Heretic God, the biblical monster Leviathan.

As I had alluded in the beginning of the story I had planned for both Khepri and Leviathan to be the first two Heretic Gods Taylor would have to face, the first due to the fact that she shared his name during the Golden Morning and the second since it was the first Endbringer she faced in Canon Worm.

And yes, I am aware that in Canon Campione! Leviathan was a Divine Ancestor, a former Earth Mother Goddess who was defeated by another God and thrown down from her divine throne and forced to assume the form of a human Witch.

But considering the fact that she was sacrificed in order to awaken Sun Wukong in volume six of the light novels, and therefore had absolutely no impact to the rest of the story, I decided I would make use of Leviathan here, what with Taylor's past with the beast, since any other dragon-god sacrifice would suffice to awaken the Monkey King, after all as I had said in the first chapter this is an AU.

Also, In Christianity Leviathan is often associated as the Demon Prince of envy and it's said that his abode is the Mediterranean Sea, since the waters of the river Jordan supposedly should fall into his mouth, so making her face Leviathan on the Mediterranean made sense to me.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	7. Chapter 7 - Raging Tides

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, some reviewers asked how Leviathan could be a Heretic God since he is a biblical monster and not a God per se, so allow me to explain that in Canon Campione! _any_ being that possesses a 'Legend' can become a Heretic God.

Just for a few Canon examples: Black Prince Alec slayed the Angel Ramiel for his 'Black Lightning' Authority; John Pluto Smith slayed Oberon, the King of the Fairies from Shakespearian lore, for his 'Lord of the Elves'; and Madame Aisha slayed an unspecified Christian Saint for her 'Charm or Curse' Authority.

Just from those three examples we have a biblical being, the angel, a historical figure, the saint, and a mythological character, Oberon, as proof that any being that possesses a 'Legend' can become a Heretic God.

Hope that answers your questions.

Thirdly, I would like to give a special thanks for all my followers, for Skittering Campione now has over a thousandth followers! Thanks for the support!

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Raging Tides**

Despite the relentless rain battering her body, the fierce winds furiously lashing out against her lithe frame, Taylor stood perfectly still, her steely gaze unwavering from the beast down amidst the raging waves, from the shadow of her past that was once again threatening the lives of countless innocents, silently waiting for the signal that the Council had finished evacuating the local population.

"All Civilians have been removed from the port and the agents of the Council are retreating as well." Anit relayed to the young Campione at her side, as she listened to the reports from her earpiece.

"Good, make sure they keep it that way." Taylor firmly stated, her eyes never straying from the massive sea serpent down bellow. "You should also retreat to a safe distance Anit."

Giving a nod of acknowledgment the Egyptian mage prepared to leave the rooftop, magic gathering inside her body, before stopping and giving Taylor an uncertain look for but a moment, an uncertain look that was swiftly replaced by steel hard determination.

"Taylor, take care and good luck." She simply stated, her voice carrying nothing but truth in her words, before leaping out of their perch, her enchanted winds leading her away from the raging sea and the monster that now dwelled inside it.

Despite not turning her head Taylor kept track of the young mage until she left the range of her Eternity's Sight, a rueful grin appearing on her features for the briefest of moments.

She sincerely couldn't remember the last time someone outside the Undersiders had truly wished her well, wished for her safety with no ulterior motives or hidden agendas. It was quite the novel feeling.

Shaking off such thoughts she focused at the task set before her, at the battle that was soon to unfold.

Gazing at Leviathan's massive body, its long coils easily shattering steel hulled freighters as if they were made out of wet cardboard, and the ever growing, stone shattering, waves all around the beast, Taylor had to clamp down at an instinctual urge of activating her Shards of Infinity and claiming a Brute power in order to protect herself.

For while Anit had explained that, besides their high levels of magical resistance, a Campione had a far stronger constitution than normal humans, possessing what amounted to a far more durable body and an superior healing rate, which allowed a Campione to weather blows that would shatter a normal human's bones and recover from injuries, which should take days to heal, in mere hours, that wouldn't be nearly enough if she needed to match Leviathan in a contest of strength.

From what she had gathered from the mage's explanation, in a manner of speaking being a Campione had granted to her what amounted to a natural Brute three ranking, maybe a four, which really wouldn't be nearly enough for her current situation.

But granting herself an defensive power would not only deplete one of her Authority's charges, but also, based at what she was currently seeing of the sea serpent's strength, she could assume with some certainty that nothing less than a Brute eight would do in order to allow her to directly weather the beast's blows, meaning that she would only be able to enjoy said protection for eighteen minutes at best.

' _It would be a far too wasteful gamble, too much cost and risk, for far too little gain'_. She thought with finality, deciding instead that it would be far better to rely in one of her old, tried and tested, battle tactics.

Avoid and evade.

And thankfully, if what she had managed to understand in regards to her newest Authority held true, then implementing such a tactic now wouldn't even deplete one of her shards.

" **Come forth guardians of the desert; arise keepers of the wastelands; Heed my call; from the shifting dunes I summon you; emerge I command you; for the billowing sands are my domain!"**

She intoned the spell words, the divine power contained within her shifting to follow its newest command as sand started to swiftly appear out of thin air all around her, floating around her body for but a moment before rushing forward, completely ignoring the raging storm, gathering together right in front of her in ever growing quantities.

In a matter of seconds a massive, monstrous form appeared before her, a form she was extremely familiar with.

It was a massive beetle-like creature, easily larger than a minivan, six and a half feet long, five feet across and five feet tall, standing atop six pincer-like legs, two forelimbs with what looked like praying mantis blades, and a single large horn that curved outwards from atop its head.

All in all, what most would consider a nightmarish sight, and yet the appearance of said gargantuan beetle could only bring forth a small, sad, nostalgic smile to Taylor's face, as the young Campione remembered her former mount.

"Hello again, Atlas." She softly spoke to herself, glad to confirm that the construct's divine nature was protecting its sand body from the pouring rain.

Nimbly climbing atop the sand creature's back, right behind the horn, even as its shell opened up to reveal a series of diaphanous sand-like wings, which immediately started to beat up with ever growing speed, she allowed a fierce, predatory, smile to enter her features.

Ignoring the loud thrumming coming from behind her as her steed took flight, Taylor directed the sand construct towards the bay where Leviathan was now rampaging, all the boats in the harbor now long gone as the sea serpent swiftly moved towards the buildings alongside the docks.

As soon as they approached enough for Leviathan to enter her Sight's range Taylor immediately started to parse what information she could glean from the Heretic God's body, even while guiding Atlas ever closer.

Her earlier musing about the beast's strength and resilience had been spot on, it's massive serpentine body being literally covered in extremely thick scales and coils of densely packed muscles, both of which she had no doubt the serpent could flood with divine power at a moment's notice to rise it's power and resilience.

' _Well then, let's get its attention.'_ She decided while flexing her already active Authority, eyes fixed on Leviathan's form down bellow.

All around her sand started to appear amidst the storm, swiftly gathering into very familiar shapes, coalescing into the form of large, dog sized scarabs. By the dozens they formed, wings already stretched and buzzing, flying alongside Atlas, until, in a matter of moments, a full blown swarm was following her through the air.

Another mental command and the swarm descended, hundreds of sand-scarabs dive bombing straight towards Leviathan's raging form, even as more of their brethren keep forming around Taylor's body.

She had no delusions regarding the scarabs' ability to kill the Heretic God, for despite the fact their bladed limbs being able to cut through steel with ease, she knew the sea serpent's massive body could most likely endure a lot more punishment than they could deliver.

But that did not mean her swarm didn't have a function in the coming battle.

And so, commanding Atlas to keep his distance, the young Campione focused all her senses, both mundane and divine, upon her opponent, silently analyzing it as her swarm rushed it from all sides.

Khepri's sudden regeneration had nearly been her end, but it had also taught her a invaluable lesson, to not underestimate an Heretic God, even for a moment. And so she waited as her swarm started to do what she commanded it to do, to distract, probe and harass.

' _Let's see how you respond to this.'_ She thought, eyes locked at the sea serpent down bellow, analyzing it's every move. She would not be caught off guard again.

 **\V/**

"Keep the perimeter tight, we cannot risk civilians nearing the sea! Make sure all the wards are properly placed and erected!" Anit shouted so that she could be overheard amidst the ever growing storm, issuing orders towards a mage of the Council, which up until mere days ago had utterly outranked her.

Even as she swiftly analyzed the incoming reports a small part of her mind couldn't help but laugh incredulously with a tinge of hysteria at the situation at hand. Less than two days ago she had been right at the ground zero of where a Heretic God was about to rampage, setting up wards in order to keep the growing situation contained and the civilian population safe.

And now, once again, here she was, less than two miles away from an rampaging Heretic God, coordinating the efforts of erecting all the barriers and wards that were being put in place in order to avoid the gargantuan beast down at the harbor from claiming innocent lives.

But despite the near identical situations, one major diverging fact had presented itself, and it was exactly that point of divergence that was seriously testing her self control as that small, unhelpful, part of her mind kept breaking down in near hysterical laughter.

For before she had been shunted into that particularly hazardous situation due to the fact that, despite her impressive skills as a mage, her young age and lack of connections made her completely expendable.

But now, now she had somehow been put in charge of this, newest, particularly hazardous, situation, as the overseer of the whole operation; her new position as the Eight Campione's sole servant somehow bumping her straight to the top of the food chain.

And the irony that somehow, despite her complete and absolute reversal of her place in the command chain, she was still practically in the same position as before, made part of her want to laugh at the irony of it all.

Firmly locking that particular line of though away so she could revisit it much, much, later, she focused at the task at hand, following her King's command in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Alexandria from Leviathan's wrath.

Her personal mental breakdown regarding how her life had suddenly turned upside down could wait for another, far more opportune, moment.

Dispatching another veteran mage, whom she was positive had outranked her to a truly ludicrous degree earlier that week, to reinforce the barrier near the southwest side of the port area of the city, Anit kept her sharp eyes turned towards Taylor distant form.

The young Campione had taken flight atop a truly massive scarab, rising through the stormy winds, swiftly moving towards the rampaging God down in the harbor.

For a moment Anit wondered what Taylor was doing, until she noticed countless shapes forming amidst the ever growing darkness of the storm. With a sudden jolt the Egyptian mage finally recognized what she was seeing, as, by the dozens, Taylor summoned forth the very same sand scarabs Khepri had used against the young Campione, an army ready to respond to their master's command.

In a matter of moments a massive swarm cluttered the skies above Alexandria, and yet, despite their massive numbers, more kept appearing with every moment that passed, dozens, hundreds, thousands, a literal biblical plague darkening the sky.

Anit had but a moment to watch in awe, before, as if a single being, the entire swarm dived towards the sea, as if a tidal wave of sand rushing forth to clash against the surging waves, as if the desert rushing forth in defiance of the ocean's wrath.

She watched as they collided against Leviathan's gargantuan form, countless bladed limbs scratching, stabbing and cutting against the beast scaled hide, searching for weak spots as the swarm skittered over the beast's body, constantly moving, never stopping their onslaught.

It was a daunting sight, the never ending swarm rushing towards the massive sea serpent, unminding of the danger represented by the now enraged God, uncaring for their safety, dozens of them being swiftly smashed by its twisting coils, dozens more being crushed by its fanged maw, and yet they never wavered, an army of suicide warriors focused only on bringing down their enemy.

Watching as a new wave of scarabs literally hurled themselves against Leviathan's eyes, bladed limbs outstretched as they impacted, sacrificing themselves in order to deliver the blow, Anit was suddenly very thankful she was aligned with the young Campione.

A loud bestial roar reverberated throughout the city, windows shattering as a literal wave of sound blasted forth from Leviathan's irate form, crushing hundreds of the sand scarabs with the strength of its shockwave alone, forcefully pushing hundreds more of them back, only to allow hundreds more to take their place in their relentless assault.

Anit thought for a moment that this was it, that the biblical primordial monster of the sea would simply succumb in face of the swarm the Eight Campione was commanding, buried under their unending numbers.

A thought that was swiftly crushed as the sea surged forth all around the beast, all but exploding upwards, crushing everything in its path, before forming dozens of water tendrils, each over ten feet wide, over a hundred feet long, surrounding Leviathan amidst a swaying mass of watery whips.

And yet, despite their massive size, the water tendrils moved with terrifying speed, crushing everything that dared to approach the beast, slamming hundreds of scarabs by the second, their crushed remains being swiftly washed away by the torrential rain, effectively blocking the swarm from reaching Leviathan's form.

' _It's a stalemate.'_ Anit swiftly realized as she watched the clouds of sand scarabs trying to penetrate Leviathan's watery defense, striking from all sides, only to be swatted out of the sky by the lightning fast tendrils.

Taylor's swarm couldn't penetrate the sea monster's defense, but at the same time it appeared to not have located Taylor yet, the young Campione flying high in the stormy sky, far above the tendrils reach, and so Leviathan could not stop the source of the scarabs.

Wondering if Taylor would be forced to use the golden form she had used to defeat Khepri, Anit wasted a moment pondering if her King had any other Authorities at her disposal, but her musings were cut short as a frantic shout came forth through her earpiece.

"Tidal wave incoming! Get to high ground, now!" One of the Council's mages frantically shouted, the sound of heavy breathing and the rushing sound of wind indicating said mage was following his own advice as swiftly as possible.

Turning her focus towards the sea Anit immediately paled at the sight before her eyes, as she took in the over eighty feet tall tidal wave that was rushing towards the shoreline, a wall of water intent upon crushing everything upon its path.

"All ward teams, deploy barriers immediately!" Anit shouted to her fellow mages even as she herself started to channel her own magic to aid in the effort. "Do not allow that wave past your positions!"

Throwing all the power she could muster into the barrier that was being deployed, Anit swiftly took over the growing ward matrix, putting all of her considerable skill into the task at hand, despite knowing it was a doomed effort from the very beginning.

There was simply no way their barrier would be able to stand up to what was most certainly an Authority, as Leviathan brought forth the fury of the seas themselves forth in an attempt to crush its enemies, but even so she did not waver.

She would give it her all no matter that doing so would most certainly doom her, making sure the tidal wave would squander most of its strength upon the barrier, hopefully preventing it from reaching too far into the city.

She would safeguard the innocents that were hiding away from the storm inside their homes, blissfully ignorant to the possibility of their looming end, no matter what.

But her grim thoughts were cut short as a brilliant flash of white suddenly cut through the ever growing darkness of the storm, as if a lightning bolt slashing away the gloom that was permeating the stormy skies.

Blinking away the spots in her eyes Anit searched for the source of the phenomenon, only to stop, mouth agape, at the sight that was displayed before her eyes.

The tidal wave was gone, an wall of pure ice, stretching from one side of the bay to the other, as if some sort of titanic wave breaker having taken its place, completely neutralizing Leviathan's attack.

Even as she realized that Taylor had somehow stopped the massive wave, a part of the young mage's mind could not help but fix itself upon a single fact, incredulity overpowering all other thoughts for a moment.

' _Where the hell did she get an ice based Authority?'_

 **\V/**

Letting out a shuddering breath Taylor lowered her hands, relieved that her Shards had managed to provide her something to stop the massive wave.

Thanks to her Eternity's Sight she had known the amount of kinetic energy that thing had been carrying, and that if it managed to hit the city, Alexandria would have quite literally been washed away from the map.

Thankfully the blaster nine power she had been granted had proven itself more than up to the task, even if that meant the clock was now ticking for one of her three charges.

Shaking her head once, she refocused on the enemy down bellow. Her ice beam power would be extremely useful against Leviathan's water based powers, so she best make the time she still had with it count.

Making Atlas dive towards the sea serpent she focused upon her target even as most of her swarm dissipated back into sand, the scarabs having already done their job, forcing Leviathan to show his abilities, one arm raised and pointing straight towards the beast and the other grabbing her mount for stability.

A flash of white surged forth from her outstretched hand, as what looked like a pure white lightning bolt darted through the air, crossing the distance between the two enemies in a single heartbeat and immediately freezing the thrashing water whips around the beast's body.

Even as another bestial roar cut through the air Taylor felt as the creature's eyes focused upon her, marking her as the source of the attack.

' _Got its attention, now to make sure to keep it that way.'_ She inwardly stated, guiding Atlas past Leviathan's thrashing form as the beast freed itself from the icy tendrils all around it, her hands swiftly moving towards the small backpack she had been carrying.

"Hey you overgrown eel!" She shouted as loud as she could so she could be heard over the storm, her hand grabbing the coconut sized spherical object that had been inside her backpack and raising it high. "Looking for something?"

The reaction was as immediate as it was brutal, a truly titanic wave of sound reverberating through the bay as Leviathan roared upon laying eyes upon the Ocean's Orb, the sea beast immediately rushing after Taylor with speed that belittle its gargantuan size.

" **You dare!"** A loud bestial voice resounded, fury clear in each word that was shouted. **"You dare flaunt what was stolen from us! You dare to defy us!"**

' _Might've worked a little too well.'_ An unhelpful part of her mind could not help but remark as Atlas started to have to fight the suddenly increasingly furious storm, the harsh winds and torrential rain seeming to increase their intensity by the second.

Aiming her mount towards the large ice wall that had formed from the tidal wave, the young Campione focused her beams towards the sea around the frozen structure, enlarging and solidifying it, intending to try and bait Leviathan out of the water.

As she forced Atlas to fly faster, even as she created more of her scarabs in an attempt to slow Leviathan down, her sensing Authority immediately locked into the pearl she was still carrying, as the blue jewel lit up in with an azure glow, as something that had been dormant within its depths slowly awakened upon sensing its creator's power.

' _The hell?'_ She thought in confusion, sensing that the jewel's power appeared to be identical to the power of the Heretic God she was facing, as if a shard of its power taken out and given physical form.

But before she could focus on it properly she was forced to divert nearly all her attention to keeping Atlas on its course, as the furious winds seemed to redouble in their intensity, even as the sea God water tendrils reformed around it, immediately destroying her swarm the moment they approached, not slowing her enraged pursuer in the least.

Turning her body backwards towards the swiftly approaching sea beast Taylor let loose a barrage of ice beams, attempting to hit it as it zigzagged beneath the waves, avoiding the blossoming spikes of ice that were exploding all around it.

" **Surge forth, oh, blood soaked oceans! Sate thy thirst, oh, crimson seas! Respond to thy master's command and eradicate all in my path!"**

Leviathan's enraged roar pierced through the noise of the furious storm as if it wasn't even there, a sudden change of movement coming from the thrashing waves and the buildup of power in the waters below warning Taylor to the incoming danger.

Making Atlas swiftly dive to the side Taylor watched with wide eyes as a large beam of water surged forth from the sea with impossible speed, a column of pressurized water, as large as her torso, cutting through the space she had been occupying but a moment earlier.

' _Fast!'_ Taylor inwardly cursed as she righted Atlas. There had been barely a moment's pause between the attack starting and it cutting through where she had been.

If not for her supernatural senses she sincerely doubted she would have been able to avoid it, and considering the fact that normal, ordinary, pressurized water could literally punch through steel with ease, she had no desire to see what it's divine counterpart could do to her body, Campione constitution or not.

Widening her eyes she forced a burst of speed into her mount even as she aimed both her arms downwards towards the sea, as she sensed not one, nor two, but dozens of the water beams swiftly forming beneath the surface of the thrashing waves.

Freezing part of the ocean in order to stop five attacks from forming, while simultaneously pushing her mount out of the trajectory of seven others moments before they fired, Taylor furiously kept analyzing the sea down below, attempting to keep ahead of the barrage of attacks that were now filling up the sky.

Escaping by a hairsbreadth from an intersection of five different beams, while freezing solid seven more before they could fire and box her in into a trap, Taylor vehemently cursed all hydrokinetics to the deepest parts of hell.

She had to get away from the ocean, her plan of luring Leviathan into the ice wall appearing more compelling by the second, for as far as she had seen so far it could not control ice directly, only water.

Forcing Atlas forth as she kept dodging and blocking the God's barrage, Taylor kept obsessively analyzing the waves far beneath, seeing where the attacks would form so that she could avoid their paths before they fired.

Being almost exclusively focused upon the threat beneath, Taylor nearly gave herself whiplash as her head snapped forwards as she felt a sudden burst of power forming right in front of her, not down below at sea level, but actually at her current height.

"Shit." She succinctly summarized upon noticing Leviathan perched atop the icy wall right in front of her, dozens of water orbs forming all around it, carrying within them the same feeling of the beams she was already dodging.

Even as she made Atlas all but freefall to the side in order to avoid their path, while firing twin ice beams towards the beast, Taylor knew it would not be enough, her sensory powers allowing her to trace the incoming trajectories from the attacks that were surrounding her, both from the front and from beneath.

 **"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you!"**

She started the familiar spell words even as her ice beams collided with five incoming attacks, stopping them on their tracks, while Atlas dodged seven more coming from beneath.

" **Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need;"**

She continued amidst the barrage, barely dodging seven more beams, three from the front and four from beneath, before coiling her legs and jumping away from her mount a split second before another beam from behind cut right through the sand construct.

" **invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"**

She finished intoning a single moment before a watery beam hit her straight through the chest, as she fell towards the crushing waves down below.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

I feel like some of you may kill me for stopping the chapter here, but I truly feel like this was the best point to end the chapter at without affecting the flow of it.

Personally I think the first half of the battle with Leviathan developed nicely, flowing really well through the entire chapter. And rest easy, I'm already writing the next chapter, so you won't have to wait for long for what comes next, promise.

About Anit wondering if Taylor would use the Golden Hero despite it being still recharging, and so unusable at the moment.

In the story Anit and Taylor have known each other for less than two days, and as such the Egyptian mage has no knowledge about Taylor's Authorities at the moment.

Which also explains her surprise at the Eight's Campione display of an Ice Beam "Authority", since Taylor is a new Campione and, since they made contact in Egypt, most would suppose she slayed her first God in Africa, making an ice based Authority really odd.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	8. Chapter 8 - Round Two

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, this chapter tides up the battle against Leviathan, for once things went rather smoothly while writing, the chapter all but flowing together rather nicely, so I hope you all enjoy it!

Thirdly, happy Easter!

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Round Two**

Despite the torrential rain relentlessly battering against her tense form, the fierce winds howling all around her as her hair wildly thrashed like vipers against her face, Anit refused to move from her spot atop a large two story building at the very edge of the barrier that was keeping the raging sea at bay.

Proximity had always helped her deal with the more complex type of wards, to feel the spell threads as they formed, allowing her to weave them into a far greater, and far more importantly for the current situation, far stronger whole than most mages could ever accomplish, and if this barrier was to have any hope of withstanding another attack like the one that had almost hit the city a bare few minutes ago, then there was no room for anything but her absolute best.

But even as she acted like a focal point for the entire barrier, gathering and directing the magical power of every single mage that were helping at the effort, swiftly weaving dozens of spell threads together in order to strength the barrier with every second that passed, she found she could do nothing to alter the fact most of her focused was centered at the young woman that was the reason the city was still standing despite that initial attack.

A young woman that was even now engaging a being no mortal should have ever been able to face in order to safeguard the city, dauntlessly charging against it with apparently no fear or hesitation.

Watching as Taylor dodged and weaved around the mystical barrage the primordial sea beast had called forth, repeatedly dodging strikes by a hairsbreadth with preternatural skill, all the while firing back that white lightning ice power against Leviathan and maneuvering in high speeds, into what for all intents and purposes looked like a deathly three dimensional maze, Anit firmly concluded that there were far worse masters to whom she may had ended up in service of.

Gaze fixed upon her liege as she dodge over a dozen attacks with such grace that the maneuver looked as if it was choreographed, with the Eighth Campione stopping attacks before they even began, as if she was an fearless jet pilot dancing around the anti air fire of an enemy stronghold as she advanced towards her target, Anit felt a small fierce smile slowly appearing upon her face.

That was her King, the relentless warrior that had slayed the Heretic God Khepri mere moments after learning about the existence of the supernatural side of the world, the fierce guardian that had twice now rushed to the aid of a town full of strangers at the mere possibility of said town being under threat, and that, even now, was battling one of said threats with all her being.

Even if she had managed to keep her calm for the most part, the truth was that being suddenly enlisted into the service of the newest of Pandora's children had deeply shaken her, not to mention setting most of her survival instincts into high drive, and not without good reason.

Nearly all sources of information agreed upon a few facts regarding Campione, chiefly amidst them being that they were, basically, walking natural disasters, with absolutely no compunctions upon doing whatever they wanted, and very little regard for the consequences of their actions.

One only had to look at what was happening in Japan ever since they had been 'graced' with a Campione to confirm the validity of said claims, what with several of their most precious cultural landmarks being 'accidentally' turned to so much ruble by the seventh Devil-King.

So Anit had been understandably worried upon suddenly finding herself under the service of one of said Devil-Kings with no prior warning, or chance to brace herself.

Or at least that had been the case at first.

Even though she had known Taylor for less than two days, the fact they had spent nearly all that time together meant she still had managed to gather the bare bones of the Eighth Campione's personality, and what little she had managed to glimpse showed someone that she actually may not mind to follow after all.

A fierce determination, as unbreakable and unyielding as the bones of the very earth; an unstoppable resolve, untiring and incessant as if the slow unavoidable encroach of an ice age, and a keen mind, as sharp and unrelenting as a peerless blade.

Which truth be told, all in all, summed up to quite the terrifying picture when backed with the powers of a God-slayer, if not for the fact it was all wrapped around a decent, if apparently slightly warped and distorted, moral compass and a fierce protectiveness for those she deemed under her care.

' _Yeah, I could have done way worse in the master category than that.'_ She concluded with finality, thinking about some of the Council's elders, even as she expertly fixed the newest set of spells into the wards matrix, eyes ever tracking the clash that was happening between the sky and the sea.

Her idle musings were cut short as she felt a tidal wave of power suddenly permeating the entire area, the storm redoubling it's ferocity as Leviathan infused his might into the water all around them.

Eyes darting through the raging waves, she turned towards the Heretic God, the sea beast having climbed into the icy wall that was now enveloping the bay in a impressive burst of speed, several dozens orbs of water swiftly appearing around it before being launched towards Taylor's form.

She watched, mouth now desert dry, as Taylor darted and weaved around the new onslaught, even as the ongoing strike coming from the sea also redoubled its intensity.

But while before the young Campione had avoided Leviathan's assault with preternatural grace, now there was an undeniable feeling of urgency to her actions as she dodged dozens of attack by the second by the barest of margins.

Letting out a startled gasp she watched as Taylor jumped of her mount a split second before it was bisected in two by one of the incoming water beams, but even if she had managed to avoid said attack, she was now freefalling towards the raging sea.

She helplessly watched as another attack was swiftly hurled towards Taylor's helplessly falling form, her heart thrumming against her chest.

Letting out a shocked cry she watched as the water beam pierced the young woman straight through the chest, leaving a gaping hole behind.

Only to stop herself mid shout in sheer surprise, as the young Campione's body seemed to apparently suddenly dissolve into dust.

 **\V/**

Gasping for air as she suddenly found herself standing upon the icy mass that constituted Alexandria's new impromptu wave breaker, almost nine hundred feet away from her previous position, Taylor valiantly fought back the slight dizzy feeling that she was currently experiencing, a feeling that she was regrettably somewhat familiar with.

Teleportation, the instant transfer of mass and energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them, an extremely useful power that was widely known due to its common occurrence in the genre of science fiction, and also an incredibly useful power to have at your side in any conflict, and an absolute pain in the neck to fight against.

She should know, she had personally been at both categories of said claim more than once.

But what most fiction, PRT reports, or even power analysis thesis never really bothered to add, was the simple fact that teleportation was downright disorienting if you weren't able to brace yourself for it beforehand.

Taylor had never really bothered to ask others what they felt upon experiencing it, but to her teleporting always felt extremely weird, and apparently teleporting under her own power didn't change that little fact.

For her it always felt as if she was freefalling through the air, a brief moment of total weightlessness, swiftly followed by a sudden shift of her internal sense of balance, all the while her body felt like it was filled with a sense of motion-but-not-motion and being subject to some kind of pressure, that reminded her of feeling like being underwater, from all sides, all happening simultaneously in the space of a single heartbeat.

Suffice to say that it wasn't a very pleasant feeling, even if she had eventually gotten used to it, key word being, eventually.

The fact that she had left behind a copy of herself that wasn't experiencing that particular onslaught of sensory input, while actually experience the quite novel feeling of having an eighteen inches hole carved right through her chest, really didn't help deal with the weirdness any better.

Shaking her head in order to refocus herself Taylor allowed the information of her newest power to permeate her mind, even as she used her Eternity's Sight to keep track of the Heretic God that was at the other side of the ice wall upon which she was currently standing, and making a pretty impressive work of appearing confused despite being a gargantuan sea serpent.

When faced with Leviathan's sudden increased onslaught, and her mount apparent inability to a sufficient speed in order to keep up with it, she had focused upon a single, very simple goal. To get away from it, and as such she had chosen a Mover power while using her Shards.

But what she had gotten was so much more than mere teleportation.

The ability to instantly move to anywhere in sight while leaving behind a fully functional corporeal copy of herself, while being able to freely control and directed said copy before it dissipated into ash, either due to taking a hit or reaching the twenty seconds time limit.

She recognized the power, for she had seen a variant of it back in her earlier days as a Cape, Lung's top lieutenant, Oni Lee's power.

A fierce predatory smile appearing on her face she got back to her feet, a plan already forming upon her mind.

The ability to leave behind copies of herself that were capable of doing anything she could do was downright useful, and while the line of sight thing had probably been a problem for the psychotic teleporter, for her that was hardly an issue.

After all, with her Eternity's Sight already activated, technically speaking everything inside an eight block radius all around her was inside her 'line of sight'.

Immediately appearing fifty feet away from Leviathan she swiftly unleashed an ice beam against the beast, only to immediately appear fifty feet behind the beast, unleashing a second attack even as the first barreled towards her target, only for two more copies of herself to appear above it, freefalling towards Leviathan while unleashing two more ice beams against it.

Watching from her new perch upon a large ice mound seven hundred feet away from the now enraged Heretic God, Taylor analyzed the result of her assault, the four beams hitting both the beast and the floating water orbs all around it, even as her four copies were immediately bisected by the sea serpent counterattack.

The one beam that had managed to bypass the creature's watery defense seemed to have been effective, the beast's scales and the flesh underneath them being cracked and burned by the frozen temperatures it had been subjected to.

The fact that the now furious looking sea beast had immediately summoned his water whips back and called forth a new barrage of water orbs only reinforced that notion.

Nodding in confirmation Taylor firmed her resolve. She still had little over seven minutes with her Blaster power, and less than six with her new Mover ability, and so she had to make them count.

Eight Taylor's appeared all around Leviathan, each at a cardinal direction, hands aglow with white light, ready to unleash their attacks.

Even as five of them were immediately crushed by the God's lightning fast water whips the other three unleashed their assault, all the while nine more appeared up above, falling towards their target, hard eyes locked at their prey, even as even more copies appeared with each moment that passed.

Water and ice battled for dominance amidst the stormy skies, dozens of her copies being felled with each moment that passed due to Leviathan's frenzied barraged, only for dozens more to take their place.

For every five beams she fired, only one seemed to be able to bypass the Sea God's protective watery tendrils, but slowly but surely the sheer weight of numbers was starting to tip the scales in her favor.

" **Heed my words denizens of the forsaken depths! Obey my call creatures of the abyssal seas! Come forth to my aid, your master demands it!"** Leviathan roared in fury, his rage permeating the very air all around them as its power surged forth, the pearl she was still carrying in her backpack glowing brighter than ever as if in answer.

Taylor watched as hundreds of monstrous beings swiftly emerged from the stormy seas, gigantic crab like creatures and monstrous serpents rising from the waves and rushing upwards the ice wall and towards her and her clones.

Her initial response was to try and re-summon her sand scarabs to fight back Leviathan's minions, only to immediately abandon the idea, knowing that the torrential rain and howling wind would slow down their formation too much for her to create a large enough fighting force to keep the sea creatures at bay.

Immediately making twelve of her copies appear at the edge of the wall instead, blasting away and keeping the incoming army at bay, while sending a new batch of clones to keep Leviathan at bay, Taylor used the small breathing room that had granted her to focus her Eternity's Sight at the glowing pearl in her hands.

Twice now the pearl had reacted to Leviathan activating an Authority, and while she sure as hell wasn't going to let the beast get it, she also wasn't going to keep carrying it around without learning what the hell it was attempting to do.

Blinking in surprise at what she was sensing she nearly forgot to send in a new wave of clones, focusing all the power of her sensing Authority at the oddity in her hands.

To her senses the pearl seemed to actually 'be' an Authority itself, bound into a physical form, as if a piece of a God's power imprisoned into the form of a jewel, a piece of a God's power that matched perfectly to Leviathan's own power.

' _No wonder he wants this back.'_ She concluded even as she teleported over three hundred feet away from a gigantic crab that had gotten far too close for comfort, it's massive claw slamming into where she had been standing before being frozen solid by one of her clones. _'Somehow someone stole one of his Authorities.'_

But her musings were immediately cut short, for upon returning her focus to the battle at hand, she realized the sea beast's intention for this latest attack, as Leviathan rushed forward with tremendous speed, not towards her or her clones, but towards the edge of the ice wall itself.

' _Fuck!'_ She succinctly summarized, realizing the army she was now keeping at bay was nothing more than a distraction as the sea God attempted to return to his domain.

Even as nine Taylor's appeared in front of Leviathan's rushing form, her ice beams creating a wall in an attempt to keep it at bay, only for the Heretic God to barrel through it, his speed diminished but by no means stopped, all the while his water whips swatted away any of her clones that attempted to get close, she swiftly analyzed what she could do in the moments she still had.

She simply couldn't afford to allow Leviathan to return to the sea, for its speed while underwater could easily allow it to avoid her attacks long enough for her shards to run out.

Her Master of the Sands Authority would be of no use, there being simply not nearly enough time for her to create a sand minion large enough to even attempt to restrain the gargantuan sea serpent.

But she also didn't know if she could truly afford to use her last remaining shard to restrain the beast, for while the combination of her ice beam with her clones had proven themselves quite effective, as the numerous wounds all around it's scaly hide could easily attest, she didn't know if it would be enough to finish the creature off.

Watching Leviathan crush another hastily erected ice wall, all the while swiftly dodging another five ice beams and quickly approaching the edge, Taylor resigned herself that she simply had no choice.

She couldn't allow it to reach open water once again, and her Shard's of Infinity was the only power she had left. After all, it wasn't like she could simply grab a new power and use it against her foe just like that.

' _Unless…'_ She trailed off, a crazy idea suddenly hitting her like a lightning bolt, her hands darting towards her small backpack, unceremoniously ripping it open and grabbing the fiercely glowing coconut sized pearl that resided within.

She had a mere moment to see if this crazy idea could actually work, but even as she re-focused her Sight into the glowing blue marble, her instincts nearly sang to her in agreement with what she was now planning to do, insisting that it would work.

After all, her Authorities were nothing else but powers that she had stolen from Heretic Gods.

Bringing her right fist against the pearl she was holding in her other hand with all of her now quite considerable strength, she crushed the priceless gem into smithereens, her supernatural sight allowing her to see the energy trapped within that had been awakened by the proximity of its original owner.

She needed an extra Authority. The pearl contained an Authority. And she personally knew quite a bit about stealing.

Grasping at the now freed power before it could rush back to its master she intoned the words she could hear being whispered within her mind, a near manic grin firm upon her face.

" **Come to me, oh, abyssal creature! Arise from your slumber, oh, serpent of the forsaken seas! In the name of your master, awaken and unleash your fury upon all in your path!"**

She roared in defiance, the ocean roaring in kind as a massive wave surged forth, barreling at Leviathan just as the beast leaped past the edge of the wall, the force of the impact blasting it back into the ice.

" **You insignificant worm! How dare you, how dare you defile what's rightfully mine!"** The primordial beast of the seas roared in absolute fury, water exploding all around it, a literal tidal wave appearing out of nowhere, crushing everything around it before being unleashed into all directions in the form of hundreds of water beams.

Teleporting her body twelve hundred feet up into the air in order to avoid the attack, Taylor watched as everything even remotely near the beast, from her clones to Leviathan's army, was swiftly wiped from existence by the barrage.

With the exception of the being she had just summoned with her newly stolen power, the water beams doing very little against its own watery body.

A large, thirty feet long, sea serpent made almost entirely out of water rushed forth, tackling Leviathan's far larger form without a hint of fear, the larger sea serpent thrashing around in an attempt to smash its smaller watery counterpart.

Reappearing back at ground level, all the while dozens of her clones appeared all around the two thrashing serpents, bombarding them with impunity, ice shards exploding all around them, Taylor weighted her options.

She had less than two minutes left for her ice shard, and a little less than that for her clone one. And while the sea serpent she had called was helping in keeping Leviathan busy, she could see it would be a matter of time before the Heretic God destroyed it.

It would seem that she would have to use her last shard and get a new power after all, for despite how well her two active shards synergized, or that her ice power actually seemed to seriously hurt the beast, her ice beams simply lacked the raw power to truly finish it off.

' _Or perhaps not exactly a new power.'_ She thought while pondering a new idea, her smile growing to truly predatory proportions. After all her current powers were working just fine, they just needed a little more oomph.

 **"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"**

The moment the words left her mouth she selected a level ten shard and swiftly moved towards the category she needed, a power category that was both lauded and envied back on her world for what it could do.

Creating a dozen more copies all around the thrashing sea serpents in order to slow them down, she waited to see what her Authority would offer her in regards to Trump powers, her eyes looking forward to one of the three holy grails of the category.

Her already large predatory smile grew a few molars more as the very first power offered held exactly what she desired, a power-set that people would literally kill to have in their teams back on Earth-bet due to its uses, power enhancement.

Creating three dozens of copies spread all around Leviathan, even as the beast finally managed to throw away her watery sea serpent, twenty upon the ice, the rest high into the air, she directed her new power towards her ice shard, strengthening it far beyond its original threshold.

Thirty six pairs of arms simultaneously pointed towards Leviathan enraged form, each of them being covered into a nearly blinding amount of white light for but a single moment, before launching it forward.

The next moment the world turned white.

Blinking back the white spots that were dancing around her vision she waited for it to return, only to realize after another moment that there was nothing wrong with her vision.

Mouth opening up slightly she took in her surroundings, her pure white, completely frozen surroundings.

There was nothing but ice all around her, the previously wildly thrashing sea locked into place by the frozen grasp of a glacial age, the torrential rain turned into placidly falling snow.

And her imposing enemy, the gargantuan sea monster that had so fiercely opposed her, replaced by a hundred feet long gigantic ice sculpture.

Peering at the frozen Heretic God with her Eternity's Sight Taylor confirmed that the creature had truly been frozen solid all the way through, not a spark of its former power still remaining.

As if to confirm that particular realization cracks started to swiftly spread alongside the statue, its massive weight now too much for its icy form to contain, the sound of cracking ice filling up the utter silence that had permeated the area.

Watching as her former enemy slowly crumbled into frozen dust, her look of incredulity being swiftly replaced with a massive grin, Taylor remembered one of PHO's more popular, and often repeated lines, which was surprisingly fitting for the situation at hand.

"She is freaking bullshit twelve I tell you." She happily mumbled, grin firm into place.

 **\V/**

 **Taylor's Authorities:**

 **Eternity's Sight; Golden Hero; Shards of Infinity. (Scion)**

 **Master of the Sands (Khepri)**

 **Ocean's Shroud (Leviathan)**

"Rise, oh, crushing tides! Roar, oh, raging waves! Protect me with your mighty mantle; embrace me with your ever shifting cloak! For the surging seas are mine to command!"

An Authority that enshrouds Taylor in a swiftly moving, self replenishing, mantle of water, that floats around her body. It grants its user perfect control over the water that is generated, allowing Taylor to freely manipulate it however she sees fit, while also automatically surging forth to block any incoming attacks against her as long as there is still water in the shroud.

The continuous self replenishing nature of the shroud also means that the longer the Authority remains active, the stronger it becomes, since more water shall be available to control.

While activated the Authority also enables it's wielder to breath underwater.

 **Terror of the Depths (Leviathan)**

"Come to me, oh, abyssal creature! Arise from your slumber, oh, serpent of the forsaken seas! In the name of your master, awaken and unleash your fury upon all in your path!"

By supercharging her Ocean's Shroud, Taylor can summon a thirty feet long Sea Serpent Divine Beast made out of water to fight in her name.

The summoned beast possess great physical strength and is capable of moving extremely fast, but its greatest power lay in its resilience, since its water body swiftly regenerates from any damage taken, the only way to slay it being to destroy the coconut sized pearl that constitutes the serpent's core.

Upon being used this Authority locks down Taylor's Ocean's Shroud Authority for twenty four hours, but should the serpent be slayed in battle through the destruction of its core she will be unable to re-summon the beast for a week.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

And that wraps the battle against Leviathan, hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

A little explanation regarding the pearl to those who aren't Campione fans.

In the Campione universe it's possible to bond a magical spell into a physical form for later use, though the process appears to be extremely complicated with extremely few being able to do so, the container of such spell being called a Grimoire.

A Grimoire is an artifact that contains magical power and knowledge, the most ancient of which are infused with the power and wisdom of the Gods themselves. Unlike how they are commonly depicted, however, a Grimoire does not need to be a book. In fact, as the first of them predate books, many Grimoire have forms very different from what is commonly imagined.

For instance Godou managed to defeat Verethragna by using a Grimoire in the form of a stone tablet containing an Authority belonging to Prometheus in order to steal one of the Persian God of Victory's Authorities and use it back against him.

And so the Ocean's Orb in my story was in fact a Grimoire containing an Authority that had been stolen from Leviathan.

The three Holy Grails of Trump powers is actually a personal opinion of mine and include: Power Nullification, Power Granting and Power Enhancement. Which in my opinion are the most 'broken', and awesome, of Trump powers in Worm.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	9. Chapter 9 - Aftermath to a Storm

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, a very special thanks for all those who favorite this story! Thanks to you all now this fic has over one thousand favorites! Thanks for the support!

Thirdly, some reviewers questioned how Taylor managed to use the Terror of the Depths when in the description it's linked with the Ocean's Shroud, since she didn't have it during the battle.

Originally the Terror was linked with the pearl, but Taylor sacrificed it in order to pay the activation cost for the Authority, afterwards, with the pearl now gone, it latched itself upon the Ocean's Shroud and started to use it for the sacrifice needed for its activation, creating the restriction found in the AN.

Hope that answers the question.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Interlude: Aftermath to a Storm**

Gripping the armrest of the luxurious armchair upon which he was sitting, a small drop of sweat dripping down his neck as he intently stared at the scene that was being displayed in the large screen set in front of him, at the sight of Alexandria's harbor and the surrounding sea turned into a frozen glacier, Zaliki Abubakar could feel both fear and anticipation battling for dominance inside him.

The power that the Eighth Campione commanded with such impunity both cowing and enticing him in equal measures, as he carefully went through plan after plan regarding how to harness even a fraction of said power in order to further the power of the Council and his own political might.

He knew that, while holding quite a bit of power in the African continent, in a worldwide scale the Council of the Sands couldn't really compete with the true heavyweights of the magical world, oh sure, they possessed both the magical might and knowledge to equal and actually even surpass some of them, but even so they simply could not compete with the likes of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, the Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation society or the Royal Arsenal, despite the infuriating fact that the last two were extremely young organizations, less than two decades old in fact in regards to the latter one.

That disparity in power was born due to one single inescapable fact, that said organizations were under the aegis of their respective Campiones, an aegis that granted them a near insurmountable advantage when dealing with other organizations.

For incredibly precious few ever dared to cross a Campione, even indirectly, and this attitude tended to be extended to the organizations the God-slayers claimed as their own.

Even being tangentially connected with one of them was enough to boost a Mage Organization tremendously, the Witenagemot being the perfect example of that, for, despite the fact it was in constant conflict with the Royal Arsenal, it still received some of that protection and regard simply due to the fact that it was housed upon the country the Black Prince had claimed as his kingdom.

And Zaliki wanted that for Egypt, and more importantly, he wanted that kind of regard and power to the Council, and in doing so, for himself.

Sure, there had been always rumors that the Third Campione actually had a mansion somewhere in Alexandria itself, but in the end said rumors did nothing to their image or booster their standing before other mage associations, not to mention that despite their agents best efforts that had never been proved, not even a trace of her presence ever being found anywhere in the country, much less the old port city.

And considering that Alexandria itself was just attacked by a Heretic God and there was no trace of Madame Aisha, he guessed that that particular rumor could finally be put to rest.

Truth be told, he couldn't say that having that rumor dispelled particularly bothered him, after all while the Third Campione was supposedly quite powerful, she was so rarely seen and so prone to wandering around that being placed under her protection would hardly work as an effective deterrent towards outside forces. After all, no one would fear a guard dog that was never there to do said guarding.

But this new Campione, Taylor Hebert, was not only clearly extremely powerful even by Campione standards, but completely uneducated regarding the supernatural side of the world, meaning she would be far more easy to influence than the over a century old Queen of the Cave.

Oh, he would have to be careful, to act with both cunning and caution, lest the Eighth Campione discover his subtle attempts to guide and influence her actions for his personal benefit, there being plenty of records regarding the fate of those that had angered a Devil-king in the past to show him what would happen to him should he fail.

But despite the danger inherit within his plan, the benefits would be just that much greater in return, and he hadn't become the youngest mage to ever be admitted upon the council by avoiding well thought out risks, by playing his chances and walking the knife's edge, his cunning and keen mind always allowing him to be a steep ahead of his opposition, all the while accumulating more power and prestige, this time it would be no different.

Sure, the fact his initial gambit of putting Abasi under her service in order to better access both her power and personality, and in time to slowly influence her decisions, had been a setback, her taking Anit instead due to her unexpected fondness for the little Guardian having been completely unexpected, but it still was a link with Egypt nonetheless, and so something he could work with.

A large smirk appearing upon his features he took in the frozen landscape the Devil-king had created, his ambition finally overcoming his instinctual fear.

Oh, she was surely powerful, of that there was little doubt, but the little girl had no idea of the game she was in now, a game upon which experience and intellect were far greater weapons than mere strength.

Pouring himself a drink he envisioned the benefits of having a Campione under his subtle influence, confident on his future success. His opponent was an inexperienced little girl who probably had no knowledge of what the real world really was, no idea of what to do in a position of command, no idea how to wield her newfound power, both political and magical, which in turn meant he had plenty of time to act while she found her bearings.

Yes, he inwardly decided, he had ample time to try another way to gain some leverage over the young Devil-king, after all, at this point in time, she had no reason to even suspect about his intentions and schemes.

 **\V/**

"It's frozen solid all the way to the seabed..." One of the Council's sensors incredulously stated by Anit's side, wide eyes staring fixedly at the glacial landscape that until moments ago had been a wildly thrashing stormy sea, awe and fear clear on his voice. "She flash froze the whole freaking ocean!"

Anit herself had to admit that what her King had just done was a fearsome demonstration of her might, the magical power necessary for creating such a sudden large scale change into the world itself being quite literally mind boggling.

Point in fact, she wasn't even sure if any of the other seven Campiones had ever shown such an overwhelming display of pure elemental power while dealing with an Heretic God, not over such an large area during such a small amount of time.

"Yeah, that escalated quickly." Some mage at her back attempted to joke, trying to break the current tension hanging around the group. "Man, this is going to be one hell of a chore to cover up, isn't it?"

"You could say that." Anit replied, a tinge of humor clear on her tone of voice despite the shock she was still feeling at the sudden end to the fight.

"Perhaps she could defrost it if we asked nicely?" She joked back deciding the mage had the right idea, gaining a smattering of weak laughs for her effort, the tension slowly leaving the group.

Only for it to immediately come right back and rise a few notches higher, due to, as if summoned by her words, Taylor suddenly appearing less than three feet away from them with no prior warning.

Ignoring the fact everybody else was dropping to their knees and all the 'Your Grace' and 'Your Highness' that were being thrown toward the Eighth Devil-king by the now jittery and scared looking mages of the Council, Anit instead searched her liege's form for any serious injury.

Giving Taylor a small polite bow of her head she approached the tired looking young woman, happy to see that unlike with her battle against Khepri the God-slayer seemed to be perfectly fine, only her tired features and battered clothing showing she had even been in battle against an Heretic God mere moments ago.

"Anit, report, where there any casualties amidst either the civilian population or the mages under your command?"" Taylor demanded, as if an general enquiring about the state of her troops, her tone serious as she stared at the Egyptian mage with her steely eyes.

"There were no civilian casualties, the early warning allowing us to complete the evacuation of the port area of the city before the battle truly started and the wards kept the worst of the storm away from the city at large, a few mages are suffering from exhaustion due to overusing their reserves while keeping said barriers up, but that is the worst of it all." She immediately replied, her back straightening up slightly at the grateful nod Taylor granted her.

"Good job, Anit, and the same goes for all of you." Taylor continued, looking at the assembled council mages, her eyes taking in their kneeling forms with a fierce pride in her eyes. "Rise, all of you, there is no reason to kneel, especially not this day, for your actions today helped to prevent the deaths of countless innocents, take pride in that."

Looking at the mages cautiously rising to their feet, admiring gazes locked at the young Devil-king in their midst and back straight with pride, Anit couldn't help but admire the ease with which Taylor had taken command of the group, almost as if she had prior experience leading groups of warriors into combat.

"Now go and get a well deserved rest, you are dismissed. Anit, you are with me." She simply stated, moving past the slightly awestruck mages with Anit following right behind, completely ignoring the murmuring that started the moment they left the group behind.

"Can the Council cover this up?" The young Campione idly asked gesturing with one arm towards the frozen sea, her tone of voice only slightly curious, as if she was simply stating a random thought that had manifested in her mind.

"It will put a serious strain upon their manpower, but I believe it's within their capabilities." She replied after giving the kilometers long icy mass that had been a sea but minutes ago an considering look, inwardly extremely glad that she wouldn't be amidst the ones that would have to both cover it up and defrost it as quickly as possible. "Time may be an issue, especially if we want to avoid any long term damage with the ecosystem, but it's doable."

"Hadn't really thought about that, but I can see your point." Taylor replied in a slightly amused tone of voice, inwardly musing about the possible consequences that dropping a glacier in the middle of the Mediterranean could cause. "If they are unable to deal with it in a timely manner let me know and I'll deal with it."

Anit nodded her understanding, making note to inform the Council of her King's considerate offer, even if she knew that it would only make the Council work even harder to deal with the situation as fast as possible to not look incompetent in the eyes of the Eighth Campione.

' _So glad I'll not be part of that mess.'_ She thought with relief, already seeing the double shifts that would be imposed upon every single mage the Council could call upon in order to deal with the situation at hand.

"Oh, and the Museum won't be getting their blue pearl back." Taylor tacked on in an absentminded way, as if just remembering an unimportant fact. "I kinda crushed it during the battle, so you may want to warn the Council to come up with a cover for that too."

"Why did you do that?! Do you have any idea how rare a blue pearl is, much less one of that size?" Anit incredulously asked stopping on her tracks, mouth slightly agape as she gave her King a shocked look. "Or how much money that thing was worth? It was an extremely rare natural wonder!"

"Because it was necessary; Yes, point in fact I do actually know that; and probably a downright ludicrous amount of money." Was the Eighth Campione's nonchalant reply as she answered Anit's questions, the disinterested look upon her features showing she wasn't giving much thought to destroying a priceless natural treasure. "Just remember to tell them that later on, now get moving, it freezing out here and I want a warm bath before collapsing upon the extremely comfy, king-sized bed that is waiting for me back in the hotel."

Opening and closing her mouth in shock as she processed the nonchalant way in which Taylor was treating the fact she had destroyed and important, extremely valuable artifact, setting the whole mess aside in favor of her bed, part of her mind could not help but wonder if the rumors regarding the fact that Campiones had no common sense was true.

"Why exactly was it necessary?" Anit decided to enquire further, since what little she had gathered regarding Taylor seemed to go against the idea of her simply destroying the pearl for the hell of it.

"The freaky thing was somehow containing one of Leviathan's Authorities, and a downright useful one at that." She replied with a downright predatory smirk.

"That thing was a freaking Grimoire?!" The Egyptian mage all but shouted in shock, wondering how the hell the Council had allowed such a priceless and, far more importantly, dangerous magical artifact to bypass their notice and end up in a museum of all places.

"No idea what a Grimoire is, so can't really help you with answering that." Taylor nonchalantly replied, turning a corner and proceeding down the deserted road that would lead them back to the five stars hotel upon which they were staying, giving Anit an uncertain look from the corner of her eyes, as if pondering about saying something or not.

"What is it?" She asked, knowing that Taylor rather appreciated when she was direct and to the point, apparently having very little patience with pointless posturing, something she herself heartily agreed with.

Looking at her King's slightly conflicted look, as if she was battling with herself regarding whatever it is she was pondering about asking or not, Anit wondered exactly what it could be to give the fearless Campione walking by her side pause.

"I'll tell you more when we get back to the room and you put some wards around it." She replied with an irritated sigh while giving Anit a disgruntled look, a faint dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks. "For now let's just say that I may need your help for one more thing tonight before we hit the sack."

' _It's almost as if she is embarrassed about whatever she wants to ask me.'_ Anit curiously thought, nodding her agreement to her King's request while noticing that the faint pink tinge upon her cheeks had grown slightly darker, inwardly baffled by Taylor's strange behavior.

 **\V/**

' _I'm starting to see a pattern here.'_ Taylor calmly though while taking in her pure white surroundings, remembering the last two times she had found herself upon this very same unending white void, and the similar situations that had led to it, after all, once was happenstance, twice was coincidence, but three times is enemy action

She was upon the Netherworld, the place upon which Pandora dwelled, the supposedly borderline between the world of the living and the afterlife, or at least that was the gist of what she remembered the purple haired God telling her.

' _And that's another thing to ponder about, why can I remember it all so clearly now?'_ She mused, thinking about how after waking up she had been only able to remember brief fragments of her previous visits to this strange realm.

" **Taylor, so you did decide to visit!"** A joyful, excited shout came from right behind, followed by a pair of small deceitfully strong arms hugging her, lifting her off the ground and twirling her in place, effectively stopping her previous train of though. **"I'm so glad to see you again! You are most definitely my favorite daughter!"**

"Hello, Pandora, nice seeing you again." She said, her voice an interesting mix of tiredness and bemusement.

" **Oh, please dear, I thought we had already deal with that pesky little issue, please call me mom."** The child like God said in mock seriousness, finally putting Taylor down and allowing the Eighth Campione to turn around to face her. **"You are one of my children after all!"**

Feeling an unwanted blush trying to surface upon her features, she took a few deep breaths in order to regain control of herself while wondering how to answer that particular request.

After all, she already had a mother, and she had no intention of replacing her, no matter the fact she had died years ago, but likewise she quite literally owed her life to the strange God in front of her, who even now was staring at her with a hopeful gaze, which made outright refusing her request a little difficult.

" **You are truly adorable when you blush my dear, it's an endearing sight."** Pandora said amidst her bell like laughter, all but cooing at Taylor's embarrassed expression. **"The way your cheeks flush is truly lovely, just like they did as you asked your little follower for her help earlier tonight."**

Feeling the heat upon her cheeks growing even stronger at the knowledge that Pandora had somehow seen that particular little debacle of her asking for Anit's aid in dealing with the fallout of using her Eternity's Sight after the battle with Leviathan, Taylor decided that a change of topic was most definitely warranted.

"Perhaps at some point in the future, but far more importantly, what is the current problem?" Taylor asked, wondering why the all giving woman had called her to her abode.

" **Problem, what problem?"** She asked in slight confusion, tilting her head to the side. **"What could you possibly mean by that, my child?"**

"I'm talking about whatever reason it was that made you summon me here!" Taylor replied in slight annoyance, thinking her host to be playing dense simply for the heck of it. "Last time that happened you warned me Leviathan was about to attack Alexandria! So why did you call me this time?"

" **You seem to be mistaken my dear, I wasn't the one to call you here, either then or now."** The purple haired petite woman happily proclaimed, a hand gently combing Taylor's long hair. **"Like I said before, it was you that came to visit me."**

" **And I'm afraid that this time there is simply nothing all that interesting happening for me to relay it to you."** She continued, her features taking in a faux pouting look, mirth clear in her eyes. **"Alas, that means you won't be taking any heroic quests this time, I'm afraid. Though you do have my thanks for handling that little tidbit we discussed in your last visit."**

Looking at the childish figure merrily playing with her hair, whom Anit insisted was one of the strongest beings on the planet, Taylor boggled about that little revelation, inwardly wondering how that could possibly work.

" **And not only did you accomplish what I had asked, but you did it in such a magnificent manner as well! I do appreciate a certain flair for the dramatic, and you most certainly managed to deliver that!"** Pandora laughed, letting go of her hair to twirl in place for a moment, only to suddenly stop, leaning her head slightly to the side, as if listening to something only she could hear. **"Yes, I most definitely agree, such diligent and prompt actions do deserve some recompense, especially to my favorite daughter."**

In a sudden burst of speed Pandora darted to the young Campione's side, her arm snaking towards her throat in a blur of movement, before retreating just as fast, a golden glint now upon her hand.

" **Yes, it could definitely work, especially considering how growth was a fundamental part of** _ **His**_ **very being."** She continued to talk while intently staring at the golden marble she was lightly grasping with both hands, all but ignoring Taylor startled gasp. **"Yes, it could most definitely work."**

" **I have decided, this is a token of my appreciation, daughter dearest."** She happily stated even as the necklace Taylor had acquired after Khepri's defeat started to shiny like a miniature sun, completely blinding the young Campione.

And with those words Taylor felt something being forcefully shoved straight into her chest, a feeling of all encompassing warmth completely engulfing her body even as she started to lose consciousness.

" **I shall look forward to your next visit dear, I do hope you enjoy my gift!"**

 **\V/**

All but jumping out of her bed, in a manner that was also becoming painfully familiar, startled eyes taking in her surroundings and her heartbeat drumming upon her ears, Taylor wondered what the hell had just happened.

Pulling together the fragmented remains of what she could remember of her latest encounter with the All Giving Woman, while part of her mind noted that while still disconnected and scattered she still could remember more than after last time, she wondered if she had simply imagined Pandora forcefully shoving her necklace into her body.

A wonder that lasted but a scant few moments before being swiftly crushed as she confirmed that the necklace she had wore to bed had disappeared, only an empty leather string remaining around her neck.

"What the fuck?" She questioned to the universe at large, wondering what that had been all about, while simultaneously feeling slightly grateful that at least this time Anit wasn't sharing her room in order to see her undignified awakening.

Carefully looking over her body for anything wrong, searching for any uncomfortable feeling or soreness, anything that could indicate that something was amiss, after several long moments Taylor had to admit that the only thing with her body she could point out as even slightly amiss was its apparent utter lack of anything even slightly wrong.

Remembering Pandora's words regarding her actions, how she had called it a gift, and remembering that said woman was the reason she was a Campione in the first place, Taylor swiftly decided that something had to have changed, meaning that she simply was unable to see said change, or at least, she couldn't see it with her current senses.

Firming her resolve she sought out the familiar feeling of her Authorities, intending on using her Eternity's Sight to see if she was able to pinpoint whatever Pandora had done, and afterwards perhaps grant herself some kind of Thinker power to further analyze it.

But even as she opened her mouth to intone the now familiar spell words, allowing the feeling of power from her Authorities to slowly flood her body, she suddenly stopped short, as the thought regarding her Shards of Infinity had brought said Authority to the forefront of her mind, allowing her to see that it had already fully recovered from her battle with Leviathan, all her shards being fully charged and ready for use.

All _four_ of them.

' _What the actual fuck?'_ She incredulously thought, mouth agape for a moment as she took in that particular Authority and how it had apparently grown, her mind immediately returning to Pandora's words regarding a gift.

Wasting a moment considering the implications this presented, Taylor stayed seated upon her bed for a moment longer, shock clear upon her features.

Only for her shocked look to be slowly, but surely, replaced by a large, predatory grin.

 **\V/**

Inside a dark, lavishly decorated, room in the very center of the city of Cairo, nine individuals sat upon a large ancient table, four males and five females, their age varying greatly from the early thirties to the late eighties, but all were wearing exquisite pieces of tailor made clothing, and all had pondering and calculating looks on their faces as they watched the nervous looking mage standing near the room's entrance, intently listening to what he was saying.

"Concluding my report, the cleaning up of the aftermath of the Eighth Campione's battle against the Heretic God Leviathan is proceeding according to schedule." He firmly stated despite the nervous feeling that had lodged itself into his gut upon having the full focus of the gathering of the most powerful and influential mages of all Egypt centered upon himself.

"All traces of the ice that had enclosed the harbor have been dealt with and day to day business in the city has returned to normal, there were no information leaks and the whole situation has been effectively contained, we estimate there will be no further complications."

"Very well, we thank you for your efforts, you are dismissed." The oldest man amidst them calmly said, waving a wrinkled hand towards the door, the young mage immediately obeying and leaving the room.

"Now that the more immediate issue has been dealt with, let's move on to more pressing matters." He solemnly stated, turning his old eyes towards the woman at the farthest seat to his right. "Lady Eshe, what have you found out regarding our esteemed guest, what can you tell us?"

Clearing her throat the dark skinned and haired lady started to speak while perusing a surprisingly small folder, and idle gesture of her hand making a servant rush forth and place a copy of her findings in front of each council member.

"Despite the best efforts of our operatives, both in the mundane and in the supernatural, we have discovered extremely little in regards to the young woman who has become the Eighth Campione." She said in a bitter, self reprimanding tone of voice, clearly showing her displeasure at how little her followers and operatives had found out. "Most, if not all, that we know about her is pure conjecture based upon what we have observed, and assumptions based upon said observations."

"That is extremely unusual Lady Eshe, you and yours have hardly ever failed upon bringing to both our eyes and our ears what was needed, granting us the knowledge we needed to act, and yet what you bring towards us now is the knowledge that our eyes and ears have deserted us?" The leader of the council calmly enquired, a slightly reproachful tone in his voice.

"My apologies Lord Harakty, but despite our best efforts, after scouring all sources of knowledge available to us and even seeking aid of other foreign associations in our attempts to build our report, we were assault time and again by one worrying fact that repeatedly thwarted us." Eshe calmly replied, a hard glint on her eyes as she stared defiantly back at Harakty's gaze. "Which in turn forced us to use more indirect means in order to retrieve what information we could regarding the Eighth Campione."

"And what fact is this, that so thwarted you?" Another member of the council asked, leaning forward on his seat.

"That, technically speaking, the Eighth Campione, known as Taylor Hebert, does not officially exist." She stated with finality, causing murmurs to arise from the other council members.

"Explain." Harakty simply stated, effortlessly silencing the room.

"From what we have observed so far we have concluded that Taylor Hebert is most likely American, what little remains of her accent indicating her to be from somewhere on the eastern coast of North America."

"But upon using our resources to search about her in the government agencies of said country we found absolutely nothing: No birth certificate, no social security number, no school or medical records, no passport, nothing." She explained in an irritated tone of voice, gesturing towards the first page of the folder which contained a more detailed explanation in regards to their search.

"While increasing the intensity and reach of our search within America, we also expanded our efforts towards other English speaking countries in case our earlier assumption was wrong, to the same effect. For all intents and purposes she is a nonentity, having absolutely no official records of any kind; as we speak my operatives are doing a wide search with the help of both the Witenagemot and America's own Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation society, but I have little hope they shall find anything of true relevance."

"The source of our belief is born due to what we gathered from her actions so far: The Eighth Campione has resided in high level hotels since her battle against Khepri, but despite their high cost she has had little trouble affording them, not to mention all payments have been rendered through cash; there is no document trail whatsoever marking her entrance to our country; she has shown the ability to spot the tails placed to track her movements in Alexandria with extreme ease; and finally, we have confirmed that while in Alexandria she has visited a known forger, and obtained a complete set of fake documents from him."

"As such, we have reasons to believe that she is somehow connected with the mundane criminal underworld, and quite deeply connected at that, to the point that all traces of her civilian life have long since been erased." She grimly concluded, a pained grimace on her features as she thought about the powers of a Campione in the hands of a common criminal.

"Those are troubling news indeed, although considering her actions regarding both Khepri and Leviathan, perhaps not as dire as they initially sound." Harakty thoughtfully said, a pondering look on his features.

"Regarding the supernatural side of things, we know that she had no prior knowledge regarding magic or the supernatural before being reincarnated as a Devil-king." She continued, activating a projector with one hand.

"As for her Authorities, she apparently gained two from slaying Khepri, the ability to create an army of sand scarabs and the ability to teleport while leaving behind autonomous sand clones of herself." She continued, gesturing towards pictures of both abilities being used.

"Regarding Leviathan, we do not know what Authority she gained from directly slaying the beast, but we do know that she successfully absorbed one of the beast's Authorities that had been contained within an undiscovered Grimoire she found in one of the city's museums, which allows her to summon some kind of water sea serpent divine beast." She said with chagrin, knowing that heads would roll for such an oversight pertaining to such a rare and valuable item remaining unnoticed.

"As for the Heretic God she initially slayed, his or hers identity remains a mystery, what we do know is that she has gained at least two authorities from the kill, an golden avatar that posses tremendous strength and durability, and the ability to summon an extremely powerful ice beam."

"Considering the time lapse between when she was supposedly reborn, something we can determined with some degree of certainty due to it being felt by both our more sensitive sensors and confirming reports from foreign organizations, with her first sighting just before the battle against Khepri, we assume that their battle must have happened near Cairo itself, sufficiently far away to remain unnoticed, but still close enough for her to reach the city within said time span."

"Finally, considering some of her actions, from heading straight towards the location upon which two Heretic Gods would attack, despite not even knowing about their existence before encountering miss Anit, to finding a forgotten Grimoire our agents had overlooked, we believe that she may possess some kind of prophetic ability, either that or posses some form of Spirit Vision."

"Regardless of which she does posses, we also strongly believe that she is completely unaware of said ability, having never been taught how to harness her gift and having no way to pursue further instruction before due to her lack of knowledge regarding the existence of magic."She finished, closing her folder with a tired sigh, this new information gaining interested murmurs from the other members of the council.

"Just seeking clarification, Lady Eshe, but something you have said in regards to the first God she has slayed piqued my interest." Zaliki interjected from his seat, a small frown clear upon his face.

"So what you are telling us is that, considering the time between when her rebirth was sensed and being spotted heading for Khepri, the first God she slayed had to have been slayed near the city of Cairo proper, but still far enough away from civilization that no one noticed the battle, making it so that the battlefield was most likely somewhere in the Sahara." He firmly stated as he perused the reports in front of him with narrowed eyes.

"And said God most likely has gold as its primary color in his legend, possess immense physical strength and, somehow, dominion over ice." He finished with a small irritated sneer, conveying what he thought about said analyzes. "A golden Ice God, she found in the middle of one of the world's largest deserts, please forgive me if I find this slightly unbelievable."

Holding back the tired sight she could feel trying to surface, she instead started to explain the laborious process by which her operatives had come to their conclusions, even if part of her mind couldn't help but agree with the young councilman disbelief.

 **\V/**

Laying down against the side of the building on his school's rooftop Kusanagi Godou relaxed during his lunch hour, fully enjoying the warmth of the sun against his skin and the peace and quiet that was permeating the very air all around.

The fact those two things had become ever increasingly rare commodities in his life these last few months only making him appreciate this moment of calm and serenity even more.

Regrettably for him, the peace did not last much longer, as the sound of a door violently banging against a wall utterly shattered it, the sound of harsh footsteps coming straight towards him only adding to it.

"Godou, what do you think you are doing sleeping like that? There is no time to waste, we must act immediately!" The blonde haired beauty demanded, stopping right next to him with an incensed look. "Such an important event demands your full attention!"

"Hello, Erica, a good day to you too." He calmly replied without opening his eyes, hoping that doing so would somehow allow him to retain the relaxed feeling he had been experiencing moments ago.

"I'm afraid Erica has a point this time, your majesty, for this is indeed an occurrence of some significance." A more formal voice said right next to where he presumed Erica was standing.

"I already told you to simply call me Godou, Liliana." He relied, finally opening his eyes in order to look at the two European beauties standing in front of him. "You can drop all those crazy titles."

"That's irrelevant! Haven't you seen the Committee's latest report?! This event could completely change everything!" The Diavolo Rosso shouted while starting to pace alongside the length of the school roof.

"No, not really." He truthfully replied, vaguely remembering someone from the History Compilation Committee trying to give him some kind of folder earlier. "So what is the problem?"

"A new Campione has been born, Godou-san." Yuri's calm voice said, as she and Ena joined them, a slightly worried look upon the hime-miko's features. "The Eighth Campione has been reborn in Egypt."

"And she is some kind of mysterious, undercover super-spy too!"Ena happily chirped in, sitting down right next to him, a bright smile upon her features.

Stopping to think about what he personally knew regarding his fellow Campione, as well as his own direct interaction with both Marchis Voban and Salvatore Doni, he could understand why that could be cause for some concern, but then again this new God-slayer was all the way out in Egypt, so that should hardly matter to him.

"I'm a pacifist Erica, the fact a new Campione was born should hardly affect me." He truthfully stated before giving Ena an bemused look. "And what do you mean saying she is a super-spy?"

"That the Eighth Campione is apparently connected with the criminal underworld, not to mention that absolutely no official records pertaining to her existence could even be found." Erica seriously stated, stopping her angry pacing to level him with a worried glare. "A common criminal is the newest Campione, this is an outrage!"

That brought him short, his earlier tired amusement being replaced with caution, the idea of a criminal with the powers of a Devil-king being more than enough to make him focus.

"Are you certain about that? And what do you mean that she has no records?" He questioned, slowly rising up, weary eyes looking from one girl to the other.

"All reports point towards a criminal past of some sort, but there are absolutely no solid info that could truly validate it." Liliana explained, getting a thin folder from her backpack and passing it towards her King. "As for the absence of records, it's exactly as it sounds, officially speaking the Eighth Campione does not exist, not being a citizen of any known country."

Looking at the picture of the long haired young woman who was apparently his fellow God-slayer, Godou pondered that she did not exactly look like a criminal, but at the same time the harsh glint he could see in her eyes gave him pause.

He recognized those eyes, the very same eyes Marchis Voban possessed, the same eyes Salvatore Doni had shown him mid battle, the eyes of a predator.

And considering that his interactions with both the First and the Sixth Campiones really hadn't left a positive impression of his 'siblings' behind, that similarity didn't exactly reassure him, not to mention that the fact his newest 'sister' was apparently somehow connected with the criminal underworld really didn't fill him with hope that it would be any different with her.

"What Heretic God did she slay?" He questioned, wanting to know more about this Taylor Hebert, starting to turn a new page into the folder before noticing the weary looks that Erica, Liliana and Yuri were trading. "Girls, what's the problem?"

"At this point in time, she has slayed the Sun God Khepri, the Biblical Beast Leviathan, and a third unknown God, suspected to possess dominion over ice." Erica said with a tired sigh, one hand tiredly passing through her long blonde hair.

"How long has she been active?" Godou couldn't help but ask, eyes wide as he took in the fact this newly resurrected God-slayer had already taken down three Gods.

"Four days." She deadpanned, her words conveying how unbelievable she thought the whole situation was. "She somehow tracked down both Khepri and Leviathan right after becoming a Campione, one after another."

"It's believed that she may be a Seer, since despite not knowing about the supernatural world before her reincarnation, she managed to move to the exact location upon which both Gods would strike with perfect accuracy." Yuri added, a faraway look in her eyes.

Looking from one worried face to the other, before looking back at the picture within the folder, Godou couldn't help but worry about this new Campione, wondering what exactly this new, apparently criminally connected, God-slayer could be plotting right at this very moment.

 **\V/**

"So let me see if I got things right." Taylor asked Anit, waving around the spoon she had been using to eat a large sundae for emphasis, her form all but slumped at the chair she was occupying in the small restaurant they chose to eat at.

"The other seven Campiones can be accurately summed up like this: A blood lusting tyrant that values nothing but the thrill of the hunt;" She said while pointing to the small collection of folders regarding her peers she had requested from the Council, more specifically, the picture of an old looking man with a truly bloodthirsty grin.

"A peerless martial artist, her skills unmatched in all the world, that also possess a truly titanic ego that matches, if not exceeds, her superb abilities, and that truly believes she is above everyone else;" She continued pointing to the picture of a black haired beauty wearing Chinese clothing, a somewhat demeaning look on her gracious features.

"A reclusive hermit, who refuses almost all contact with the rest of world and few have ever seen, whom possess an extreme case of wanderlust and constantly completely disappears out of the radar, sometimes for months at a time"; She kept going, pointing to a grainy photo taken from a considerable distance depicting a black haired woman covered in robes apparently entering a glowing portal.

"A costumed, masked, hero of love and justice, with a flair for the dramatic, valiantly defending his country from the forces of darkness;" She went own, moving closer the picture of said Campione, his metallic mask gleaming at the sunlight, his black cape dramatically fluttering behind him in what looked like a pose straight from a super hero show.

Taking a moment longer to take in his sight, while idly wondering what it meant for her sanity that she thought the masked hero of love and justice was the most normal looking of the lot, Taylor shook her head and went on with her summarization of her fellow Campione.

"A kleptomaniac egoist, with a severe case of denial, and no regard whatsoever for the possessions of others;" She bluntly stated, pointing to the picture of an arrogant looking young man with black hair.

"A happy, go lucky, idiotic, battle maniac, without a care for the consequences of his own actions, whom, through his careless and unthinking actions, has acquired the flattering title of 'The True Son of Epimetheus';" She deadpanned while pointing to the madly grinning blonde man that was cheerfully waving from the picture.

"And an unrepentant womanizer, who's apparently doing his level best to build himself an actual, freaking, harem of all things, with a penchant for massive amounts of property damage." She finished, looking at the picture of a Japanese youth surrounded by a throng of beautiful woman of varying nationalities, her mind making some very uncomfortable connections between the Seventh Campione and a certain Canadian villain from her home dimension. "Does that about sum it up?

"Yeah, pretty much." Anit replied with a pained grimace at how Taylor had bluntly summarized her fellow Campione's less flattering traits, but not really managing to refute any of it.

"Dear God…" Taylor mumbled in utter shock, looking at the folders spread across the table with unseeing eyes, a look of horrified realization slowly dawning upon her features. "I'm the normal one…"

 **\V/**

 **Taylor's Authorities:**

 **Eternity's Sight; Golden Hero; Shards of Infinity +1. (Scion)**

 **Master of the Sands (Khepri)**

 **Ocean's Shroud; Terror of the Depths (Leviathan)**

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

You know, I'm actually really surprise so few readers realized that Khepri's remains were in fact a Chekhov's Gun.

I thought I had made it quite clear, what with the necklace appearing no less than three different times in the story, at chapters four, five and six. But only two readers actually asked about it in their reviews.

Oh, well, guess I should be happy my plot is not predicable then; that little plot twist is only starting, look forward to further developments.

About the partial, and sometimes even downright wrong, information regarding what Authorities Taylor possess that was shown in this chapter.

This was done from the Council's point of view, regarding whatever information they managed to gather through their agents while observing the fights from a distance. And as such, is full of holes and logically based assumptions, which Taylor out-worldly status and her Shards make completely and utterly wrong.

The Gravity Touch power she used to defeat Khepri was a subtle power, with no outward signs that it was even there, all that onlookers were able to see was Khepri being crushed into a marble after Taylor's golden form touched it. And so everyone is supposing that it was in fact an aspect of her Golden Hero, and not another Authority.

Her Clone Teleport copies left ashes behind which, amidst a furious storm and seen from a distance, were mistaken for sand, and so attributed to an Authority she would have gotten from Khepri, especially considering the sand constructs she used in the fight and how they to dissolved back into sand.

And so by process of elimination her Ice Beam and the Golden Avatar would have to be the powers she acquired from the first God she slayed, which considering the timeframe had to be slayed somewhere near Cairo.

While we know that's not true in the slightest, they don't.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	10. Chapter 10 - Deal With It

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, in answer to a few questions regarding the last chapter.

Taylor blushing was due to her thinking about asking Anit's help in dealing with the searing migraine she would get the moment she dropped her Eternity's Sight, just like the mage did after her battle with Khepri, and the fact that said help would demand Anit to kiss her in order to transfer the spell past her natural Campione resistance to magic.

As for Pandora's Gift, she used Khepri's remains, or as they are called in the Campione-verse the 'Dragon Bones' that were created from his defeat, in order to empower Taylor's Shards of Infinity Authority, which evolved from carrying three power shards to a total of four. The time limits of the Authority remained the same, only now Taylor has Four charges for her use instead of the original Three.

Thirdly, I just found out that Skittering Campione now has a TV Tropes page and that's freaking awesome! A heartfelt thank you to whoever created it!

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Deal With it.**

Walking down through a small side street while enjoying the sun gently warming her face Taylor couldn't help but hmm in contentment at the perfect weather. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and there wasn't a single cloud in sight upon the sky's azure depths.

As she kept going towards her destination, she could only conclude that it was truly a perfect day.

But despite the perfect weather a small uneasy feeling was slowly emerging from the pit of her stomach, as if an instinctual warning that something was not right, as if a little voice whispering at her ear about an impending danger.

Doing her best to ignore that pesky little feeling she turned around the corner, a small happy smile firm upon her features as she drew closer to her destination with each step she took.

Closing in towards the last turn that was separating her from her intended target she started to hurry her footsteps, eager to finally reach it after so long.

Only to abruptly stoop upon her tracks the moment her eyes rested upon it. The uneasy feeling that had been growing with each steep she took now a leaden weight deep within her as a sudden unexplainable weariness made itself known.

She simply stood there for a few moments, smile gone from her face and eyes transfixed by the sight that was there right in front of her, her instincts all but screaming at her to turn around a leave, to not take a single step closer.

She didn't truly know why she was feeling like this, why the mere sight of the building standing at the end of the street was filling her heart with such dread. But she knew that she couldn't turn back now, not after everything that she had done to reach this point. And so she took a small uncertain steep forward, followed by another, and another, pushing back her fear and nervousness with sheer willpower.

"That's a really bad idea you know." A small teasing voice whispered in her ear, making Taylor swiftly turn around with a start, only for nothing but the completely empty street to greet her gaze.

"There is nothing for you there any longer; you know that, don't you?" The voice whispered from her other side, the words making a shiver go down her spine.

Deciding to simply ignore it after once again seeing nothing but an empty street she went forward towards the building, skipping one of the wooden steps that led towards the door out of habit, knowing it to be rotten and unstable.

Entering into the darkened house she swiftly moved towards the living room, the feeling of apprehension she had been experiencing earlier intensifying with every step she took. And yet she forged onwards despite it all, she had to know, it was as simple as that.

Entering into the room, her eyes taking in the faded and old furniture, she saw him. Sitting upon the worn and faded couch, his back turned towards her, was a man, a tall, skinny, bespectacled man, his dark hair showing early signs of going bald.

A strong feeling of relief taking over her mind Taylor rushed toward the couch, her eyes shining with happiness as she opened her mouth to greet him.

Only to stop the moment she managed to see his eyes, his dead, glassy eyes.

Stopping midstride as if frozen she took it all in, anger, hurt and denial battling within her mind for a moment before the body dissolved into sand, disappearing from sight.

"I told you so." Something whispered in her ear with barely contained glee, as if deeply enjoying the scene.

Turning around and running out of the room, a feeling of loss now overpowering everything else, she attempted to exit her childhood home. Only to stop in surprise the moment she passed through the doorway leading towards the street.

She was now in what appeared to be a warehouse that had been redecorated and repurposed into a loft, a large tv screen, various gaming systems, a huge comfortable looking couch and other amenities littering the room.

She knew this place; she would recognize it in a heartbeat anywhere in the world. For in many ways it had been just as important to her as her old childhood home despite the short period of time she had lived within its walls.

But it was not the place that had her glued to the spot, but the two young men within it, one a lanky man with dark curls and an aristocratic face, sprawled upon the cushions of the couch, the other a dark skinned man with a muscular frame, standing right next to the first one.

Both of them staring at her with dead, glassy eyes; their unseeing stares silently accusing her with every moment that passed.

"It was all your fault, you know it to be true." She heard it being whispered in her ear while she vehemently shook her head in denial, a hand gently resting upon her shoulder stopping her slow backwards retreat.

"All your fault..." Whoever it was that was right behind her gleefully whispered right into her ears, her warm breath gently caressing Taylor's skin and causing goosebumps to run down her spine as she watched both of their bodies dissolve into sand.

Feeling the feminine hand gently guiding her head to the side she followed the movement until she took in who it was that was standing behind her, wide eyes taking it all in with an strange sense of detachment.

It was a tall thin woman, with long curly black hair, a wide expressive mouth and large eyes. It was a figure she knew far too well, a figure she saw everyday when looking upon a mirror.

Standing frozen on the spot she gazed upon herself, but even amidst her shocked state she could immediately see something wrong upon her doppelganger's face. For her smiling mouth was far too wide to fit upon a human mouth, it showed far too many teeth for it to be natural. And her eyes were not her own sea green color, but were instead a midnight black that seemed to encompass their entirety, all the way to the sclera, not leaving a single speck of white within them.

"All. Your. Fault!" She heard herself speak, carefully enunciating every word, mouth opened in a parody of a smile and dark eyes gazing into her very soul. Loss and anger consuming her being for a moment before everything was suddenly engulfed by a radiant golden light.

 **\V/**

Gasping for breath as her heart violently hammered within her chest Taylor took in her surroundings, adrenaline flooding her system as her weary eyes swiftly searched for potential dangers or possible enemies, muscles coiled and ready to burst into motion at the smallest sign of an attack.

After a few more moments of tense expectation, upon which no threats presented themselves, she realized exactly where she was.

Taking in the darkened, fancy hotel room upon which she had laid to sleep last night through what little light coming from the streetlights down bellow that was entering by the large windows she slowly understood what had just happened.

' _Get a hold of yourself Taylor, it was just a nightmare.'_ She chided herself with an angry scoff, lightly shaking her head in order to clear her still slightly sleepy mind as she attempted to control her furiously beating heart.

Getting out of bed she moved towards one of the room's large windows, all the while inwardly mourning the loss of her ability to simply shunt all her unwanted emotions into her swarm, for she could certainly make use of said ability right now.

It had been nearly two weeks since her battle with Leviathan, but while nothing had truly happened during this time to set her on edge, for the past several nights her sleep had been plagued by nightmares.

Nightmares that harshly reminded her of both her past mistakes and what she had lost.

Looking at the full moon high above, idly noting that by its position it wouldn't be long before dawn, Taylor pondered that it was probably that exact lack of events of note that was at the core of her current problem.

When had it been the last time upon which she had she simply sit down and done nothing? When had it been the last time she hadn't been madly scrambling towards some near impossible goal? When had it been the last time she hadn't been under the unspoken all encompassing pressure of some life endangering threat or another?

Strangely enough, the current peace she was experiencing was the problem.

For without an actual emergency or other pressing situation looming overhead for her to focus upon, her mind had far too much free time to remember and reminisce. And for someone that had seen what she had seen, had done what she had done, that was a dangerous prospect indeed.

' _I wonder if Dr. Yamada does inter dimensional calls?'_ She half jokingly thought, remembering the psychiatrist she had seen while being a member of the Wards, and wondering how many new issues she would say Taylor had accumulated since their last session.

Shoving the stray thought to the back of her mind she moved towards the door and into the adjacent room, turning on the lights before heading towards the large oaken table near another window and the several large leather books resting upon it.

Since she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep she may as well put her time to good use, instead of simply wallowing upon her feelings.

Oh, she knew she would have to deal with her issues sooner or later, just like she knew she probably had quite a few of them by this point of her life. But quite frankly that was simply something she would deal with when she had to, and not a moment sooner.

She knew that if she had still been the girl she had been a few years ago, that she would have retread from the pain and fear the memories of her actions brought forth. That she would simply curl up and hide from her suffering and her poor decisions.

She knew that if she had still been the woman she had been but a few weeks ago she would have ignored it completely, burning them way in the pyre of her desperate crusade, completely uncaring for her own wellbeing.

So following that line of thought the fact that she was actually acknowledging her problems and compartmentalizing them so that she could deal with them later could probably be called a step in the right direction.

After all she was still functioning just fine, and as such she saw no need to mess with her head at the moment. And that was her excuse and she was sticking with it.

Letting out a small humorless laugh she opened the tome she had been reading before going to sleep. One of several she had obtained from the council in an attempt to understand exactly how her Shards of Infinity had grown from having initially three shards, to the four shards she now currently held.

And she believed that she now had at least a partial answer.

As a rule when a supernatural creature died their body simply dissolved into nothing, but in rare occasions upon the death of a particularly powerful supernatural being a part of their bodies could crystallize into an actual physical form, which would still contain a part of that beings power.

Such objects could be literally anything, the feather of an angel, the scales of a mermaid or the bones of a dragon. Which was why they were colloquially called 'Dragon's Bones' by the magical organizations of this world, whom desperately sought them out for the powerful spells and artifacts that could be crafted by using them as a basis.

She wondered what said organizations reactions would be if they learned she had been wearing one of said priceless objects like a necklace of all things. Especially considering it had been formed from the remains of an actual God instead of a mere Divine Beast.

The more she read about the subject the more she believed her theory was right. That Pandora had somehow used Khepri's Dragon's Bones in order to empower her Authority, allowing it to grow.

But that in turn brought forth a very important question which she eagerly wanted to find the answer to. Which was: Could the process be replicated?

Turning over the page Taylor eagerly took in the information presented upon the tome, her nightmare and emotional turmoil forcefully shoved aside for the moment.

She had far more important things to do after all.

 **\V/**

Entering her liege's current abode Anit immediately noticed Taylor was already hard at work perusing the tomes the Council had provided her, despite how early it was.

While she could understand her newfound interest upon the supernatural in general, what with her having just found out it existed, and magical artifacts more specifically, since her stumbling upon a Grimoire of all things would undoubtedly had gathered her interest, the fact still remained that during the last few days her King seemed to be always doing something, never truly stopping.

It didn't matter if it was researching something or experimenting with her Authorities, Taylor seemed to be always on the move, always striving to either improve herself or discover something new.

And while she knew that the Council was slightly worried about her apparent erratic behavior, since it made extremely hard to predict her next movements or even her plans for the future, Anit simply wished Taylor would curb her enthusiasm enough to allow her to not have to remind her liege to do some things, like eating for example.

"Good morning Taylor, I brought you some breakfast if you'd like it." Anit said while putting down the plastic bag containing the still hot taameyya she had gotten en route to the hotel, knowing that Taylor had grown a certain fondness for the fava beam dish and that she had become slightly sick of the hotel's room service by this point.

"Thanks Anit, you are a life saver." Taylor replied, putting down the book she had been perusing and happily moving towards the table in order to eat. "I guess you have already eaten?"

Nodding her head Anit watched as the Eighth Campione eagerly devoured the Egyptian falafel, internally trying to connect the fierce relentless warrior she had met amidst the billowing sands with the slightly geeky acting woman right before her.

"When I finish we are going out to the city, there are some things I want to find so that I can do a little experiment." Taylor calmly said while savoring her meal, the fact her words made a small frown appear on Anit's face immediately catching her attention. "What's the matter, Anit?"

"The Council had requested a meeting this morning, remember? Twenty minutes from now?" The Egyptian mage calmly explained, a strained smile upon her features. "I told you that last night."

"Oh, right… Well tell then to reschedule it then." She nonchalantly replied with a shrug of her shoulders while going to wash her hands, clearly not giving the fact any attention. "I have far more important things to do."

"Like what?" She uneasily asked, slightly startled at the idea of slighting the gathering of the most powerful magic users in the country like that.

"Going to a few electronic and hardware stores." Taylor calmly answered.

"Taylor, you can't just brush off the Council like that for nothing!" The mage said in alarm, mouth slightly agape at the reason given.

"You know they are going to just ramble about nothing of importance for a while before trying to give me something in order to try and tie me down to Egypt or something like that." She said while giving Anit a slightly irritated look.

"Very likely, yes." The olive skinned woman sheepishly said, knowing her liege was most likely right. "But the fact remains that if they gather and no one appears it will be a huge offense towards them."

This made the Devil-king stop for a moment as she was taking a seat, an irritated look upon her features as she seemed to ponder about the situation while grabbing pen and paper.

In one hand, the fact she was a Campione meant that the Council would more than likely ignore any slight she made against them no matter how major, but in the other, it would indubitably gain her at least some animosity from them, no matter how veiled.

"Fine, I see your point." She grumbled for a moment, turning towards Anit with an unhappy expression for a moment, an unhappy expression that was swiftly replaced with one of vindictive glee, much to the mage's consternation.

"But, since it's such a big deal, then you can go and see what they want." She chirpily said, giving Anit a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Since you work for me anyway, you can act as my representative or something."

Mouth slightly agape at the idea Anit simply stared at Taylor for a moment, before with a defeated sight she nodded her agreement. It would definitely work, especially since the Council would most likely see it as a good sign that the Eighth Campione trusted her enough to use Anit as an envoy of her will. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about enduring a round of useless politics with a bunch of windbags.

"Anit, going from a one to ten scale, with one being extremely unlikely to ten being almost unavoidable, what are the chances of the Council doing something to you if I send you by yourself to see what they want?" Taylor suddenly asked with perfect seriousness, stopping the mage's bitter musings, eyes fixed upon a list she was writing down and a hint of steel entering her voice as she made the question.

Blinking her eyes in surprise at the question and sudden change of mood the Egyptian mage watched the Eighth Campione's form for a moment, as if expecting her to elaborate about the strange question, before with a shrug of her shoulders upon realizing no explanation was coming she decided to simply answer it.

"A one, perhaps a two, but I wouldn't bet on it." She simply replied, watching as Taylor raised her head to look out the window as if seriously thinking about something.

"Eh, why risk it." The Campione nonchalantly said, almost as if talking with herself before rising from her seat and walking towards Anit with purposeful steps. "Even if it's unlikely, better safe than sorry after all."

Wondering what exactly Taylor was planning Anit watched as she stopped right in front of her, before a chill ran down her spine as power inundated the room the very next moment as Taylor started up one of her Authorities.

 **"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I am the agent of thy will!"**

Wide eyed she watched as the Eighth Campione called forth her divine powers less than a feet away from her, incredulous wonder clear upon the mage's features, a feeling that was drastically intensified the very next moment, as she felt pure power being poured into her very being.

She felt stronger than she had ever felt before, as if she could easily bench press a truck without breaking a sweat, strong enough to tangle with a Divine Beast and beat it with her bare hands without suffering a single scratch.

But not only that, she now somehow knew that for all intents and purposes she was impervious to harm, that some kind of mystical barrier that was now covering her skin would nullify any attack sent her way.

' _With this I'm probably one of the strongest beings in the whole of Egypt…'_ She thought in wonder, raising her hands towards her face as if it would allow her to see the power that was now hidden beneath her skin.

"Well that's only a level three shard, but it should do the job just fine I guess." Taylor nonchalantly said, either not seeing or not caring about Anit's awestruck expression. "The power will last for forty eight minutes, more than enough time for you to see if there is anything wrong with the meeting, get out of there and come to warn me should the worst happen."

"What do you mean 'only a level three'?" Anit asked in a near whisper with a suddenly dry mouth, failing to connect the word 'only' with the massive power she now temporarily wielded. "How many levels are there?"

"There are ten levels. Now I know it's unlikely anything will happen, but do be careful and warn me immediately should anything go wrong, okay?" Taylor stated with a serious look, staring at Anit's dazed expression for a moment until she woodenly nodded her head and robotically started to walk towards the door.

' _Ten levels… this is a three out of ten…'_ Her mind boggled at the idea that the incredible power she now felt wasn't even half of the full power of the Authority, while part of her mind wondered if Taylor's golden avatar was it at level ten.

Exiting the hotel room Anit felt, and not for the first time, extremely grateful that Taylor was not her enemy.

 **\V/**

Seating at the luxurious couch of her hotel room, an irritated frown clear on her features, Taylor kept glaring at the half assembled Sci-Fi looking portable supercomputer that was innocently resting upon the corner table with its screen lit up, annoyance all but radiating out of her body.

It was not the fact that her first attempt at using a Tinker power had ended up with a half finished product due to the power running out before the work was done that was irritating the young God-slayer. Neither was it the fact that her hotel room was now sporting an dissected TV, a dismantled mini fridge and an disassembled ordinary computer, the items having been cannibalized for parts for her project despite the fact she had gone through the trouble of acquiring a lot of spare parts before attempting to use her power to avoid exactly such an outcome.

No, she was fairly certain she could recover that specific Tinker power, or another similar enough, to finish her own portable supercomputer later on, and she had more than enough money at the moment to reimburse the hotel for the broken appliances.

No, part of what was annoying her was that, now that her Tinker Shard was gone, she had absolutely no idea how she had managed to make the materials she had just used on her project _do_ what they were currently _doing_.

None of the materials she had used should be able to _work_ for what she _knew_ she had used them for, that was an indisputable fact. And yet, somehow, they still worked as she _intended_ them to work at the moment of construction regardless of their natural characteristics and properties.

Even half assembled and missing most of its parts she knew that her Tinker-tech computer was still on par with a military grade supercomputer. The mundane materials she had used apparently happily telling something as ordinary and plebeian as the laws of physics to go bother someone else, as they worked as her power had demanded them to work, and not as nature expected them to.

' _Tinkers are bullshit.'_ The familiar saying from her home world promptly drifted through her mind as she let out an irritated scoff.

But that was only part of what was annoying her, a minor part at that.

The major source of her irritation was that she had had the brilliant idea of using a Thinker power to try and make sense of how the hell her hodgepodge Frankenstein supercomputer was working.

Only for said idea to sink like a stone as her Shards of Infinity Authority apparently decide to be, in a word, uncooperative.

That had been nearly eight minutes ago.

Discarding another extremely interesting but utterly useless power for the task at hand, Taylor started to seriously consider the possibility of her Shard's Authority being at least partially sentient, just like the Entities Shards themselves. And also the possibility that, just like said shards, it appeared to be a battle maniac.

It was the only explanation she could think from the top of her head for her Shards to be so useful and helpful at battle situations, but then decide to be utterly stubborn and uncooperative if they were used for anything that was not related to combat in some way.

Ditching another two powers, one that would grant her perfect short term battle precognition, and another that would allow her to pick up catastrophic weak points at anything she looked at, she decided that it was almost like watching a child playing with the vegetables on their plate for as long as possible in the hopes that their mother would not force them to eat them in the end after all.

' _I wonder if the only reason it helped me in a timely manner the last few times I used it for research was due to the fact that what I was researching was relevant for possible future conflicts.'_

Thinking about that particular possibility, while rejecting yet another power, she wondered what would happen if she decided to change her search parameters to something that could help her combat effectiveness; only to nearly bolt upright in a start as her power suddenly lurched forth like an overenthusiastic puppy, a new power being presented to her with what she couldn't help but label as eagerness.

Blinking her eyes, her musings and suspicions regarding her power temporally shoved to the side, she felt as her annoyance at how difficult her Shards were being disappeared in an instant as she examined the newest power that was being offered to her, her mouth opening slightly in silent surprise.

Immediately recognizing the power her Authority was currently offering her Taylor simply couldn't hide the manic grin that was slowly forming upon her face, an incredibly useful power whose original holder had utterly squandered it.

The ability to achieve mastery levels of competency in any skill that was desired nearly instantaneously, in other words, Uber's power.

Olympic class gymnast, Special-Ops level marksmen, World class martial artist, Pentagon level hacker, all that and more. Any conceivable ability or skill, as long as it could be done by a person his power would allow him to master them to the top tier of human ability.

An ability that quite frankly had it been used appropriately could have easily turned him into an incredibly dangerous individual, instead of the C ranked videogame fanatic joke villain he had been.

And now here she was, holding either that very same power or a very close analogue at her fingertips, and unlike its original wielder she didn't have a video game obsession hindering her thought patterns.

Examining the power more closely she analyzed its effects and limitations. It would allow her to achieve mastery level of any skill she trained in after measly five minutes of training, and as long as she constantly kept practicing with the acquired skills at least once a week for a few hours her skill level would barely degrade after the power had run its course.

And at this very moment she still had twenty two minutes until her current shard ran out of juice, meaning she could grab four skills at a mastery level out of the deal.

Knowing perfectly well that her powers were basically bribing her but not really caring at the moment she selected the power with finality, immediately starting a list of what skills she needed or desired, screening for the most desirable or immediately useful while at the same time making a note to, most definitely, try and find this power again in the near future.

' _And I don't think that will be a problem.'_ She mused, clearly noting the slight feeling of approval that particular line of thought had brought from her Shards.

Humming in contentment, while idly making a note to try and investigate how much awareness her powers really had at a later date, she opened her half assembled supercomputer's internet browser, mind already set upon the first skill she desired as she remembered an oddly appropriate phrase from a movie she had once seen years ago, a manic grin firmly placed upon her features.

' _I know Kung-fu.'_

 **\V/**

Entering her liege's abode, Anit couldn't help but sigh in relief, both at leaving behind the smoldering mid-day Egyptian sun behind, and at the fact that she didn't need to keep listening to the Council's long winded speeches any longer for the rest of the week.

She understood why Taylor wanted her to act as a bridge between her and Egypt's Mage Association, her knowledge in regards to the Council from her years of service allowing her to excel at the job and keep things running smoothly.

That, alongside a very well practiced kind of patience that meant that she wouldn't try and murder the whole lot of them after listening to half an hour of an overblown, far too polite speech that could basically be summarized into two paragraphs of truly pertinent information amounting to a renewed offer of support to anything the young Campione could need, and subtle enquires regarding if she planned to remain on Egypt in a more permanent basis, meant that she was perfect for the job.

' _Yeah, the longer Taylor avoids these meetings the better for everyone involved.'_ She thought only half jokingly, as she mused how her extremely practical and scarily efficient liege would probably react to being in a room with a bunch of old politicians blabbering meaningless polite chatter for prolonged periods of time.

' _Yeah that wouldn't end well…'_ She grimly concluded, acknowledging the necessity of the task even if she didn't like it one bit.

At the very least her close connection to Taylor meant that she had an unspoken immunity amidst the Council nowadays. Not to mention that the Eighth Campione was apparently quite protective of her, in Taylor's own words, loyal minion. Something that had been clearly highlighted by the fact she had used an Authority to ensure the Egyptian mage's safety before sending her to the meeting.

Absentmindedly looking at her hands Anit let her mind wander towards the feeling of incredible power she had felt upon being graced by the Authority, a feeling that despite the fact the Authority had already long since dissipated still lingered within her mind.

Shaking her head in order to clear her thoughts, Anit started to muse about her King's behavior instead. And how it seemed to flux from scarily competent and utterly focused to mischievous and playful at the drop of a hat, in such a manner that she couldn't help but think that there may be a bit of truth to the rumors that all Devil-kings were slightly insane.

Opening the door to her Liege's hotel room in order to report how the meeting had gone Anit simply stopped and stared, her mind trying to understand exactly what she was seeing.

Watching as Taylor swiftly moved around the spacious room, arms and legs moving in a blur of speed as she jumped from one piece of furniture to the other with perfect balance and grace while executing a series of Hollywood grade martial arts maneuvers, all the while sporting a manic grin on her face, she decided that there really might be some truth to those particular rumors after all.

"Taylor… what are you doing?" She cautiously asked, setting the binder she had been carrying into a desk, eyes still locked at her Liege's now still body, which was perched atop the backrest of a chair in an impressive show of balance, while part of her mind idly wondered why the TV was dismantled into dozens of tiny pieces.

Taylor immediately turned to regard her upon hearing Anit's voice, her eyes taking in the olive skinned mage for a moment with a suddenly pondering look, curiosity and eagerness swiftly crossing her features, before her grin somehow grew even larger, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Anit, is mage-craft a skill?" Taylor immediately enquired, swiftly jumping to the mage's side while completely ignoring Anit's previous question.

"What?" The Egyptian mage asked, befuddled by the apparent non sequitur of her Liege's sudden question.

"Is mage-craft a skill?" Taylor asked once again, moving closer before stopping inches away from the olive skinned woman, her eager eyes fixed upon Anit's own. "Is it an ability anyone can learn through personal effort and training, or does it demand some kind of mage bloodline or anything like that in order to be used?"

Giving herself a mental shake to get rid of her confusion Anit decided to simply answer the question, she could try and find out what Taylor was plotting later.

"Although there are indeed some magical abilities that are connected to bloodlines, like for instance the ability of Spirit Vision." Seeing the curious look her liege was giving her she decided to briefly explain said ability.

"It's a Hime-Miko's ability that allows the user to access the Memories of The Void, the immaterial repository of all knowledge that lays in the Netherworld." She explained, receiving a brief nod in understanding.

"So like I was saying, while some abilities are indeed only available to those with the correct bloodline, mage-craft as a whole can be learned by any person that posses enough willpower and sufficiently large magical reserves, if they work hard enough and dedicate themselves to the craft that is."

"So in that aspect, yes, I suppose that you could say that mage-craft is a skill." She finished her explanation, giving the Eighth Campione a searching look. "Why do you ask Taylor? Do you want to learn it? As a Campione you posses' huge magical reserves and we both know how much willpower you have, so if you want I could get you a few beginner tomes about the subject so you could get started."

Later on Anit would freely admit that the long, slightly maniacal, super villain style laughter that answered her question was slightly unnerving.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

I tried to make Taylor try and slow down a little in this chapter since she doesn't have a specific objective or goal in sight at present and her crusade is now over. But unsurprisingly enough the little munchkin decided that her idea of R&R is to try and develop Tinker Tech, study about magic, and all in all start to escalate things preemptively in preparation for any future threats.

That and show that she has some lingering issues after living the life she lived so far, not that that is any surprise, after all happy well adjusted individuals don't tend to develop martyr complexes…

In a separate note, the nightmare in the beginning of the chapter was a truly unexpected pain to write down. I wanted to give it a slightly surreal feeling without immediately showing anything was truly wrong, or that it was a dream, but that was harder to achieve than I had expected.

In the end I rewrote that particular scene thrice, and I'm still not completely happy with it, but in the end I think it turned up decent enough.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	11. Chapter 11 - Learning Curve

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, sorry for the delay, but regretfully real life is a thing that happens and simply refuses taking no as an answer. I had planned to update this weeks ago, but it seemed I never had the time to finish the chapter or revise it, one thing after another forcing me to postponed said actions again and again.

Thankfully now everything is back on track, so things should start to flow more smoothly. Wish I could promise it won't happen again, but that would be a lie. So the best I can do is promise that no matter what I have no intention to abandoning any of my stories, so rest assured that the story will continue no matter what.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Learning Curve**

Standing right upon the middle of a small gorge nested between three rock faces and the Nile, Taylor focused her will inwards, mind calm and controlled as she kept her body perfectly still, her long hair swaying upon the warm desert breeze.

Staring intently at her hand as she held it straight ahead of her body, palm pointed upwards and her fingers curled as if to grasp something, she grasped at the ebb and flow she now could easily detect within her own body, as if nothing but another appendage, ready for use.

" **Mighty Ra, Lord of the Sun, bestow upon this warrior the power of your eternal flame!"** Taylor commanded, feeding her own energy to the charging spell, eyes narrowed in concentration as the temperature around her skyrocketed.

A massive ball of crimson flames, easily the size of a beach ball, came into existence a few inches above her open palm, indicating her success in using the spell. Looking at the supernatural phenomenon she was literally holding at the palm of her hand, Taylor calmly analyzed it, noting that the energy drain it placed upon her magical reserves was almost negligible.

Seeing that the spell was perfectly stable, she made a small shift at the flow of mana coursing through her body, speeding up its passage and concentrating it upon the active pathways that were feeding the fireball.

The effect was glaringly evident, as the fireball tripled in size immediately in response to her actions, the heat being radiated from the now gargantuan ball of flames rose in kind.

Nodding once in satisfaction Taylor perfected her focus, both refining and increasing the mana flow even further, drastically increasing the heat of the flames to even higher thresholds. The flames encased within her spell responding in kind, changing from their original orange, first to blue and then finally to white.

Calmly analyzing the ball of white fiery death that was floating inches away from her face, she noted that while the power requirements had risen exponentially from the original spell, it was still a barely perceptible drain upon her reserves.

' _Guess a Campione's magical reserves really are ludicrously large.'_ She idly noted, concluding that the cost of activating a single one of her authorities could easily fuel several dozens of such a spell with ease despite the fact it was supposedly an extremely high level and energy intensive fire spell.

A casual throwing gesture from her hand sent the massive fireball hurling through the air towards the river, where it immediately detonated with a thunderous explosion, throwing upwards a massive surge of superheated water and steam.

" **Ever present Shu, Holder of the Sky, grant upon me the protection of your divine wind!"** She intoned, both controlling and fueling the spell with the ease of someone who should have spent decades mastering mage-craft.

Watching as both the boiling water and superheated air harmlessly battered against the skin tight wind barrier that she had just erected in order to protect herself, Taylor allowed a small smile to appear upon her features as she acknowledge a single fact.

Magic. She was wielding true to god, honest, freaking magic.

She had believed herself to have long since grown past the kind of childish enthusiasm one could face upon regarding unusual situations, after all after everything she had both done and seen one could easily say that the strange and the unusual were point in fact her normal. She should have long since grown inured to any of it, wonder and awe nothing but memories of earlier days.

And yet a small part of her mind couldn't help but squeal in childish glee at the fact she had just thrown a freaking fireball and erected a wind barrier using actual freaking magic of all things.

It was an interesting feeling.

Savoring it for a few moments longer, she watched as the waters of the river slowly returned to their previously pristine state, before forcing herself to refocus at the situation at hand.

Her initial idea regarding magic and the extremely accelerated rate of learning she could grant herself through her Shards had worked out even better than she had initially expected. Just like the high level spells she had just used could attest to, thanks to her Shards she could achieve mastery levels upon the arcane arts in a matter of minutes instead of years.

And while she could tell that none of the spells she had studied so far could truly harm a Heretic God, she still could easily see dozens of ways they could be of use in aiding her efforts, both in direct combat and in a support role. Truly discovering the skill Shard had been an incredible stroke of good fortune on her part.

But even as she allowed herself to savor the moment, she couldn't help but sigh as her mind insisted in coming back to an issue she had realized earlier, as she trained in the gorge while studying the magical books and tomes Anit had acquired for her.

It had been three days since her initial discovery of the wonders of power assisted learning, and during that period of time she had abused every single interaction and variation of Uber's shard she had managed to find, which considering how cooperative towards said goal her Authority was had been turned out to be quite a few. Using them to learn everything and anything that she either thought was useful, raised her general potential and capabilities, or simply took her fancy.

But after two days and fourteen uses of said shard she had been confronted with an undesirable truth, a truth that had done its level best to grind her rampant enthusiasm to a halt.

The simple truth, that there were only so many hours in a week.

For while allowing her to achieve nearly instantaneous level of mastery in any skill she studied about, in order to retain said levels of mastery her powers demanded her to train with said skills a number of hours a week. Otherwise her power assisted skills would start to fade until nothing but whatever she had naturally learnt remained.

The time demanded seemed to vary regarding both the complexity of the skill acquired and the power of the Shard that she had initially used to learn said skill, but in general it tended to be between two to three hours a week.

And while not truly being much of a sacrifice in return for the abilities that were granted to her, those hours could unfortunately stack up annoyingly fast.

And while Anit had been indeed correct in calling mage craft a skill that was only right in the broadest sense of the word. For in truth it was far more correct to say that mage craft was in fact a collection of dozens, if not hundreds, of different and varied skills working together.

For instance, in order to be able to use the fire spell she had just called forth with contemptuous ease she had had to master several different skills, including: Meditation; self focusing; ethereal sensing; mana gathering; mana shaping; energy manipulation; elemental conversion; and fire manipulation.

Which by themselves demanded nearly a whole twenty four hours of weekly training in order for her to retain her mastery in regards to fire spells, and while some of said skills could be used for other branches of magic, said branches also demanded some specialized skills for themselves, like wind manipulation for her wind barrier.

And considering that every single school of magic had several extremely diverse branches that encompassed their spells, and that there were several distinct schools of magic, it seemed that her initial idea of simply mastering magic as a whole would not be something she could actually achieve, or at least not if she wanted to do anything else but train every single hour of the week.

Not to mention the other more mundane but still extremely useful skills she had acquired and had no intention of letting go, which also needed their own maintenance time as well.

Regrettably in the end the sad truth was that she simply didn't have the time needed in order to keep them all. And while she knew that in time, and with enough practice, she should be able to learn enough to manage to become proficient enough in some of them to forgo the power assist help entirely, that would easily take months, if not years, of training.

In the end she would have to simply prioritize and keep only the skills that were more useful and needed, forgoing the rest into oblivion. No matter how much her inner child protested about it.

' _It's still one seriously useful power regardless.'_ She inwardly mused, igniting a small fireball above her hand and curiously gazing at the flickering flames. _'It will just take some careful management in order to achieve the best results.'_

"This is such Bullshit!" An exasperated voice shouted from further into the grove cutting Taylor's train of thought.

Turning around, while extinguishing the palm full of fire she had just created, Taylor took in the olive skinned figure of her new companion, who was staring at a shimmering sphere of condensed water floating right in front of her eyes with an very complex expression.

"Complete and utter bullshit!" Anit ranted, eyes fixed at the water sphere, a strange light flickering in her yes, her voice growing louder with every word that was spoken.

"Elemental manipulation is a skill that takes years to master! It's a hard and arduous process that a mage could waste their whole life perfecting! It's most definitely NOT something that can be learnt in five, freaking, minutes!" She continued, turning around to face Taylor with such speed that the young Campione wondered how she didn't get whiplash. "And that's ignoring the fact that whatever you did also let me learn three other branches of warding and greatly improve my control over mana! All that in less than half an hour! Instead of say, the decades of dedicated study and effort it all would normally demand!"

Looking at the slightly manic expression the young mage was giving her, Taylor wondered if it had really been such a good idea to empower her minion with one of her Uber-type Shards so that she could get something out of the time Taylor herself spent training.

After all Anit had gone through the trouble of warding the area they were currently using so that no one could spy upon Taylor's training, both today and the previous days when she had been testing her other Authorities, and as such the Eighth Campione felt her loyal minion deserved a reward for her services, especially considering she hadn't even had to ask for the Egyptian mage to do so beforehand.

She didn't doubt Anit's loyalty or drive, and as such raising her abilities was a perfectly valid idea if she said so herself. Only that the mage seemed to have taken some slight umbrage to the fact Taylor could apparently completely subvert the laws of magic at a whim.

"Khepri may be a god of creation, but that has no possible connection with hyper accelerated magical learning! And Leviathan makes even less sense, what with it being a primordial sea monster!" She continued to say, walking back and forth while trying to rationalize what had just happened to her and how Taylor had shattered what she thought she knew about magic and its laws. "So that means that this crazy Authority can only be something you got from your first slain god!"

"Who, apparently, seems to hold dominion over strength, endurance, ice and _knowledge_!" She finished in exasperation, her hands that had been wildly gesticulating falling at her sides and her head drooping low, as if she had been suddenly been hit with a wave of extreme exhaustion.

"Taylor, exactly what kind of god did you kill in order to become a Campione?" She all but whined, looking towards Taylor with beseeching eyes, clearly asking her to please make the world make sense again.

Looking at her new subordinate and only real acquaintance upon this earth, the Eighth Campione pondered about what to say. She knew Anit was trustworthy, that she was someone who would not betray her and would do her level best to help at anything she could.

Not to mention that she liked the Egyptian mage's company and her personality, both her dry wit, her steely resolve and her determination. Truth be told she could acknowledge the fact that she wouldn't really mind Anit as a friend.

Decision made, Taylor looked the olive skinned woman straight into the eyes and told her nothing but the absolute truth.

"He was a parasitic, multi dimensional, space whale." She honestly spoke, eyeing her loyal minion straight in the eyes.

Anit simply stared at her King for a good long moment in complete silence, her face perfectly blank as she looked right into her Liege's calm and serene features, before finally answering in a magnificently deadpan tone of voice.

"You don't say."

 **\V/**

Inside an average looking room, filled with tasteful oaken furniture and a scattering of small personal objects, an old man intently stared through the large windows. Eyes fixed at the Nile River flowing in the distance as he pondered the sudden turn fate had taken upon his country.

Nothing about the man showed his position, nothing, from his fine quality but simple clothes, to the simple golden ring with no adornments upon his hand which was the only piece of jewelry upon his person. Nothing about his average looking appearance even hinted about his position.

For despite his average appearance, this affable looking old man, inside his average though refined looking room and wearing his subdued clothes, was in fact one of the most important individuals in the whole of the African continent.

Lord Harakty would freely admit to the fact that his appearance didn't really fit with what most tended to normally associate with such an esteemed position as the Head of a magical organization. That his grandfatherly appearance and lack of taste for unneeded opulence meant most did not immediately associate him with the larger than life figure most assumed one had to be to lead a magical association responsible for a whole country.

Quite a few of his own subordinates didn't truly understand why he insisted upon forgoing most formalities and needless pomp when they were not needed. Point in fact an reasonable number of those very subordinates when confronted with his looks and old age tended to go so far as to think him not really fit for his position, underestimating his capabilities.

Something he ruthlessly took advantage of in numerous occasions.

He was an old man, he could admit so easily enough, not being one to turn away from or avoid uncomfortable truths. But something that so many of the younger members of his organization seemed to so easily forget, was that there was a reason _why_ he retained his position despite his old age.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, that there was a reason he had managed to reach said old age despite retaining his position.

Now at the full age of ninety three he had been the head of the Council of the Sands for over forty years, and he hadn't retained his position while so many other council members had come and gone by being incompetent or unable to see the truth for what it was.

Giving out a tired sigh he turned his gaze towards his simple but elegant wooden desk, upon which several reports, he had already all but memorized rested. A hint of amusement shining within his eyes despite everything else, as he thought about how willfully blind some people could be at times.

Sadly it was an extremely common trait amidst the human race, to see what one desired to see instead of the actual truth. To refuse to acknowledge an inconvenient fact, to dismiss something that did not fit into one's worldview and refuse to accept it altogether, no matter the facts all but paraded before them.

Zaliki Abubakar, one of the youngest and most ambitions men to ever claw their way into the council during his longs years as their head was sadly enough not exempt from such a sin.

He could see all the small secret actions and movements the young councilor had recently taken, his attempts to garner support and sway opinion. He could see the gambit Zaliki was preparing himself to eventually attempt.

He could see it all, just as easily as he could see that it would fail catastrophically in the end.

Calmly taking hold of a small folder he stared at the deceitfully unassuming picture of both the end goal of the young councilman and the source of so many recent changes that had happened upon the country he had guided for nearly half a century.

A picture, that at first glance showed nothing but a young, average looking woman with long, dark brown nearly black hair, a woman that at first glance seemed nothing but ordinary.

But unlike so many of his subordinates, he knew perfectly well how deceiving looks could be at a first glance. And if one cared to pay enough attention while examining the form of Taylor Hebert, the Eighth Campione, the lie was readily apparent.

For despite her seemingly normal looking appearance, the fierce determination and cold intelligence he could see shining from within the young woman's eyes betrayed the facade of normality.

Zaliki believed he could subtly influence and control the young Godslayer. That due to the fact that she had known nothing about the supernatural before her reincarnation he could easily influence her actions without repercussion.

Not for the first time since meeting the young upstart, Lord Harakty came to the conclusion that Zaliki was a complete fool with far more ambition than common sense.

For while it was true that the Eighth Campione did not have any kind of prior knowledge regarding the supernatural world, that regarding said subject she was as uninformed as a child, that lack of knowledge did not mean she was not competent or intelligent.

So many of his peers had taken a look at the young Devil King's criminal past and simply sneered in disgust, either considering it a stain against her character or simply dismissing it altogether, failing completely to see the deeper truth.

That one, that had to have been all but swallowed at an incredible young age into the criminal underworld, as had to be the case for a not even nineteen year old to be so deeply ingrained with it, for not even a whisper of her official existence to remain, had to be extremely skilled, cunning, and resourceful to have survived to the age she currently had.

No, the new Campione that was currently residing within his country was no fool, of that he was absolutely certain. And one only had to look at her latest actions to see that the weakness others would seek to exploit, her lack of knowledge regarding the supernatural, was being swiftly amended.

Looking at the reports Lady Eshe's operatives had submitted, the number of books young Taylor had her new follower, Anit, gather in the last few weeks. Or the fact she had spent the last few days behind heavy secrecy wards erected by that very same follower in deserted locations, and the spell damage that could be found after they left the area for the day. It was easy to see that the young woman would not remain uneducated in regards to the arcane a moment longer than she had to.

The Eighth Campione had already portrayed herself as an extremely capable fighter despite her lack of knowledge. After said fault was corrected he could safely assume said capabilities would rise even further.

And that was saying nothing about her other capabilities of a more mundane, but no less impressive, sort.

Perusing a report that had been delivered to him less than half an hour ago, he saw the latest proof of how deep said young Devil King's capabilities could truly reach. The report containing Taylor's complete official records, her birth certificate, school records, medical records, and many more, the complete official paper trail one left within their wake, while living their lives, up to and including a record of entry into Egypt.

All of it perfectly official looking and completely beyond any kind of reproach or doubt, done in such a way that even the most capable of Lady Eshe's operatives were unable to find any flaw or sign of tampering with any of them.

Her whole official record, documents and life history, all sitting right before his eyes, all of it apparently completely above board and perfectly correct, if not for one single fact.

That none of it had existed earlier this very morning.

Letting out a small amused chuckle he idly wondered what kind of pull the young woman had to have amidst the criminal elements of society to have been able to pull such a feat. It would have taken several expert hackers using top of the line computers to have managed to create such a perfect looking official back-story without tripping any alarm. The simple cost of such an operation by itself was staggering.

And yet here it was, clear as day and definite proof that young Taylor was not a small time player.

Overall, while added with her proven combat capabilities and the cunning and skills she had to have acquired to have survived this long, it painted a picture which allowed him to safely say that Taylor Hebert was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

And yet, in a perfect example as to why he sometimes doubted the sanity of some of his subordinates, Zaliki seemed determined to commit suicide by attempting to manipulate said Campione.

Grumbling in annoyance he wondered how best to proceed in order to ensure that when the fool's plan imploded it would not drag the rest of the council with him, all the while inwardly despairing about suicidal morons who really should know better.

It would be difficult yes, but he was sure he could weather the coming storm while also preventing a too large of a backlash from occurring. And who knew? Perhaps things could actually calm down a little afterwards for a change.

"Lord Harakty, we have a situation!" One of his personal operatives barged in with an out of breath and disheveled appearance that predicted nothing good for his faraway dreams of a peaceful trouble free Egypt, a small piece of paper held in his right hand with a death grip.

"We just received this from one of our contacts that works in Cairo's international airport!" The man explained amidst deep trembling breaths while offering the piece of paper, which he now could see was a printed picture, to him with trembling hands. "I was informed to bring this to your attention immediately, sir!"

Looking at the picture, while wondering what could have unnerved the mage so much, the Head of the Council of the Sands prepared himself to deal with whatever this new problem could possibly be with the same calm and competent efficiency he always displayed in times of crisis, a resolve that lasted until he truly saw who exactly the madly grinning blonde man, that was captured in the picture boarding a taxi was, and the only possible explanation for his current presence here in the city.

"How troublesome." He stated, heaving an incredibly tired sigh while inwardly cursing his luck and pondering if maybe simply retiring and letting someone else deal with this whole mess was not a better option after all.

 **\V/**

Sitting at a small table in the outdoor area of a nice cozy restaurant she had found a few days prior, Taylor rechecked the final finishing touches that were needed for her latest project on her portable tinker-tech super computer.

Her fingers all but dancing above the keyboard, typing lines of code with such speed that her hands seemed but a blur, she inwardly marveled once more at how useful even a handful of master level skills could be.

Thanks to her Shards her already above average typing skills, not to mention programming and hacking capabilities, were now world class. And it definitely showed in the ease with which she bypassed firewall after firewall without causing a single alarm to be tripped.

Adding master levels skills in hacking, computer programming and typing to a computer that overshadowed and outperformed even the best military supercomputers in existence lead to what could only be called an one sided digital curb stomp.

Regrettably she knew she would have to let go of nearly all of those skills for the sake of sheer practicality, allowing them to fade away back to her original skill level.

After all she already ranked above average on most of them and it wasn't like she would need them constantly anyway, so sacrificing twelve to sixteen hours a week in order to keep them wouldn't be really worth it. In the end being far more logical to devote that time slot to some others, far more pertinent, skills. Not to mention that should she have the need, she could always reacquire them later if the situation demanded.

But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy being the world's best hacker bar none, while it lasted.

A small smile on her face she finished her work and calmly exited the Pentagon servers she had been perusing without a single soul the wiser. The program she had just installed alongside the ones she had already installed in another half a dozen government agencies, both American and in other countries, would mean that no one would ever notice that she now had what amounted to government funding.

She knew that this wasn't her home reality, and that as such the blame for the actions her own home reality government had taken, could not in any way and form be forced upon the local variant.

But that didn't really mean she didn't take some satisfaction in getting some belated compensation for everything that the government had thrown her way during the course of the years. After all, in a way, it was no different from claiming the trust fund and belated payments she was owed for all the time she had spent as a Ward.

Plus a perfectly reasonable bonus for having to swallow all the things Glenn Chambers had forced her to endure.

Closing the program she wondered what to do next with her newfound temporary abilities. She had already created a perfectly airtight back-story and all the records that should come along with it for her own person, to the point she could actually dump her current fake documents if she wanted and go and acquire real official ones at the American embassy if she so desired.

A rueful smile upon her features regarding the fact she had actually used a very good part of her true life while crafting said back-story, going so far as making Brockton Bay her birth place for a second time, she decided that later on she could perhaps do something to untraceably divert money from accounts in fiscal paradises into her own accounts, but that for now she had done more than enough work, especially considering Anit was swiftly approaching with their lunch.

"Here, I got your food." Anit said in a slightly miffed tone of voice while handing Taylor her plate, apparently still a little annoyed due to her answer in regards to what Scion was.

"Thanks, Anit." She politely answered with a small honest smile, all the while fighting down a chuckle at the mage's grumbled response.

Choosing to savor her meal she allowed the olive skinned woman to deal with her apparent annoyance and incredulity to her answers to the questions the mage had asked. Knowing there was little she could do and that she would eventually get over it.

After all it was not her fault that her life up to this point was so unbelievable, to the point of absurdity, that even an honest to God magic user refused to believe what she had said was the truth.

Taking a small sip of water while wondering how exactly Anit would react to the knowledge that she was actually from a parallel dimension, Taylor idly pondered if becoming a Campione was another step up in the weirdness scale with regards to her life.

Only to dismiss the whole line of thought with a mental shrug of her shoulders. Having long since accepted that what seemed to constitute her life and normality were such disparate concepts that one may very well not even know that the other even existed.

As she was starting to learn, when nothing truly pertinent was at stake it was simply better to simply go with the flow. A concept she was sure Alec would deeply approve of.

Of course on the other hand anything that so much as threatened anything of value or under her protection would immediately discover why the Dragon of Kyushu had learned not to mess with a measly bug controller. For while she personally wasn't one to try and find trouble herself, she knew far too well how to deal with it should the need arise.

' _And talking about trouble.'_ She though with a hint of annoyance, taking another forkful of her meal while confirming that what she had just seen was not a simple trick of the light.

"Anit, do you have any idea why our new tail seems to be experiencing what appears to be a panic attack?" She conversationally asked, not stopping from eating even as her eyes never strayed from her target.

"Wait, what?" The olive skinned woman asked in befuddlement, forgoing her earlier annoyance for what appeared to be pure confusion.

"One of our new friends with stalkerish tendencies seems to be having a problem; do you have any idea for the reason for it?" She said while simply pointing towards the bar on the other side of the street, and at the operative that was now apparently frantically shouting at a cell phone.

She had to admit, that while not really enjoying being followed everywhere, she at least understood and couldn't really fault their reasoning for it. After all, it was simply common sense to keep track of possible threats wandering around your territory, especially if said possible threat was an S class one.

"No, I wasn't informed about any new development that could be causing that." Anit promptly replied, her confusion being once again replaced with hints of anger, though considering how she was narrowing her eyes at the man instead of at the young Campione Taylor felt safe to assume that this time the mage's anger wasn't directed towards her person. "Or that they were still keeping tabs on you for that matter."

"At least the new ones have some skill and know when to keep their distance." Taylor said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, not really caring about it and knowing that if need be she could either neutralize or slip by her watchers easily enough.

"But considering the fact he seems even more nervous right now, I'm thinking that whatever is happening is both related to us or coming our way." She continued, eating another morsel of her meal, determined to savor it no matter what. For if there was anything she had learned through hard won experience, it was to never pass up on a warm meal, especially since you never knew when you would be able to get another one.

"You are a literal trouble magnet, aren't you?" Anit grumbled with a tinge of exasperation.

"But unfortunately I really have no idea what could possibly be his problem. As far as I know there are no current emergencies or anything that comes even close to it in the country." She said in a thoughtful tone of voice, eyes locked at their stalker who was now staring down the street with what appeared to be mounting dread. "I think I should contact the Council to try and find out what could possibly be the problem…"

Hearing the Egyptian mage trailing off, a clear undercurrent of shock entering her words before they stilled, and her eyes fixed upon the very same point the council's operative was also staring at, Taylor stopped eating for a moment in order to see what had captured both of their attentions in such a final manner.

Following their gazes towards the corner of the street, she saw what had their undivided attention. Or more precisely, who had their undivided attention.

He was a fair skinned, blonde haired man, a pair of sunglasses carelessly resting upon his sun kissed locks, wearing an open blue jacket without a shirt underneath and a pair of blue jeans.

And sporting what could only be called a truly manic smile upon his carefree features as he looked straight at her with disturbing intensity, his whole body all but radiating battle lust.

"This could be a problem." Taylor simply stated while setting down her fork, taking in the man's athletic form and the sword poking from his back with a deeply analytical gaze. Having immediately recognized him from one of the several folders Anit had provided her.

Salvatore Doni, the Sixth Campione.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

And so Taylor is about to meet the first of her 'siblings', Lord Salvatore Doni, the Sixth Campione, the King of Swords.

When considering which of her 'siblings' she would meet first and at what situation this seemed like the most logical development for me. Since with both the close geographical proximity between Italy and Egypt and Doni's own battle lust and normal irreverence and whimsical nature, he deciding to go check out his new neighbor on a whim after hearing she is a capable fighter who already defeated three gods seemed very likely to me. And so here we are.

Next chapter we will see how their meeting goes, look forward to it.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	12. Chapter 12 - The King of Swords

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, it was quite interesting to see how divided reviewers were in regards to Salvatore Doni. Some of you seem to love him and requested me to make him shine, while others seem to loathe him and requested me to bash him.

Personally I find him an intriguing character, in small doses of course, due to the oxymoron he represents, for while he is undoubtedly an idiot, he is by no means stupid. Besides being a peerless swordsman, he's a genius at combat and actually does have a brain, it's just that he rarely, if ever, chooses to use said brain. And that duality make's him into an interesting character, at least in my opinion.

Thirdly, I would like to give a very special thanks for an unspecified Guest reviewer, who left a very thorough list of corrections to the various typos and grammar mistakes I had missed on the last chapter.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **The King of Swords**

Cautiously eyeing the manically grinning blonde man on the other side of the road, that was swiftly approaching her, and giving her barely touched meal a last brief mournful glance, Taylor focused upon everything that she had learned regarding the Italian Campione.

From what she had read about him, Salvatore Doni wasn't truly malicious. Point in fact all available data she had analyzed regarding her new 'siblings' actually tended to paint him as the second most benevolent of the other seven Campione, right behind the American Campione, John Pluto Smith.

But that did not mean he wasn't dangerous, far from it. For while he wasn't intentionally harmful to others, or even willingly tyrannical in his actions, that meant nothing to the fact he could be, and quite commonly was, found guilty of both sins in entirely unintentional manners.

There was a reason why the Sixth Campione had been branded with the unflattering title 'The True Son of Epimetheus', the Titan of afterthought.

For just like the Titan of legend, the blond Campione never thought about the consequences of his actions before acting, not in the slightest. And this, when combined with his lust for battle against worthy opponents, and mixed with the powers of a Devil-king, made for quite the disastrous recipe.

Watching the blonde Campione approaching, Taylor calmly raised off her seat, conveying to the world a mask of calm and confidence, while inwardly preparing herself for battle just in case of a worst case scenario.

 **"I saw that which should have never been seen. I've gazed into the abyss and watched its secrets, I've peered into infinity and learned its truth, I've stared past the veils of reality and witnessed its wonders. Nothing shall escape the sight of my all seeing eyes!"**

She whispered the now familiar aria under her breath, allowing her awareness to expand and cover everything around her, flooding her mind with information.

There were five other agents spread around the area, all of them panicking just like their counterpart inside the bar, but for once she actually thought their reactions was warranted. For while she could thankfully see that the blond Campione didn't have any currently active Authorities, she knew that wouldn't last, for there was only one reason for him to have sought her out, to fight.

And considering how, by all accounts, the King of Swords wouldn't even give a second thought to starting the fight immediately, regardless of the fact that they were in the middle of a busy street surrounded by innocent people, and how destructive some of his recorded fights had ended up being, she felt that their worry was more than reasonable.

"Lord Salvatore Doni, I presume?" She cordially asked, masking her true feelings of both worry and annoyance behind her best public relations smile. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yup! And you're Taylor Hebert, right?" He cheerfully asked, all but jumping in place after stopping right next to her, a manic grin firm upon his features. "My newest sibling, right? The one who defeated a bunch of Heretic Gods right after being reborn, right?"

"Indeed." She simply replied, inwardly cringing as her suspicions about what he wanted were all but confirmed. "Is there a reason for you seeking me out?"

"That means you are strong, right?" He asked in an upbeat manner, completely ignoring her question.

"Awesome! Let's fight!" The grinning maniac simply stated, right hand already moving towards the sword resting at his back without a single thought given to where they currently were.

Looking at the incongruously innocent look the grinning battle maniac was giving her, Taylor realized that any and all attempts to reason with him would be nothing more than a long lost battle. But even though she had known from the moment she had laid eyes upon him that fighting her was what he most likely wanted, she still boggled for a moment at the fact the grinning idiot wanted to battle her in the middle of the city, just like that.

But even though she knew that denying him would be an exercise in futility, especially considering how he had apparently all but stalked the Seventh Campione for weeks until he had finally managed to corner the Japanese Campione and forced him to accept his 'request' for a fight, redirecting him so that their fight wouldn't happen in the middle of Cairo was something she hoped would work.

"Very well, testing my mettle against one of my older siblings would be an interesting development. I would be more than happy to accept a duel against you." She said with a serene smile, her response causing Doni's smile to widen even further, while Anit gave her an aghast expression at her side. "But perhaps we should relocate to a proper location first? After all, this place is hardly ideal for a proper spar, wouldn't you agree?"

Blinking at her words Doni proceed to turn his head to first one side, then the other, taking in their surroundings with wide blue eyes, as if seeing them for the first time. A pondering look upon his eyes he turned around on the same spot, as if hoping that an appropriate place where they could fight would suddenly materialize out of thin air amidst the buildings, a disappointed hum escaping his lips as he did so.

"There is a secluded gorge encasing a relatively large flat area not far from the city I frequently use for my own personal training, which would be perfect for such a bout." She pushed on, making the blond God-slayer focus his gaze on her, idly noticing that Anit seemed to have greatly calmed down now that she knew her liege's plan didn't include leveling part of the city. "If we take a car we should be there in less than half an hour."

Expectantly watching her 'sibling' ponder her proposal, left hand resting against his chin and eyes narrowed in concentration, Taylor dared hope he would accept her offer without further complications, so that she could avoid having to resort to more drastic measures in order to prevent any possible fallout from their incoming clash.

She knew that his search for worthy opponents nearly blinded him from anything else, and, that even ignoring that, that Doni hardly, if ever, thought about the consequences of his actions. But surely he could see how relocating to a more appropriate location was the best course of action for him to get what he wanted.

"Ehhh, while that does sound nice, half an hour is really too long, isn't it?" Doni replied with a dazzling smile, proving to her beyond a shadow of a doubt that he deserved his title, as she realized he truly didn't seem to grasp the problem.

For a moment she seriously considered simply attacking him, taking him out before he could realize what was happening and neutralizing him before he could destroy the city. She knew that he did not have any Authority or Spell currently active, nothing to defend himself with, meaning that the small Taurus Curve handgun that she was carrying concealed at the small of her back would most likely be effective.

Campione constitution or not, six bullets at this distance would most likely, at the very least, temporarily incapacitate him, giving her more than enough time to summon one of her Authorities to finish the job and neutralize the threat.

But just as fast as it first appeared, she dismissed the idea. For even if everything worked out, which was by no means a certainty, the fallout of killing a fellow Campione would be tremendous. Not only irrevocably tarnishing her reputation, but also marking her as a definite and active enemy to all the remaining Children of Pandora. And should it fail, the result would be an all out death match right in the middle of the city.

' _No, that won't do.'_ Taylor finally decided while restraining a tired sigh after considering all the repercussions of killing Doni in such a way, a few seconds having passed between Doni's foolish declaration and her coming to the conclusion that such a path would be far more trouble than it was worth.

Meaning that the only path left was removing the blond idiot from the city immediately, so that she could indulge his battle lust in a, at least relatively, safe environment.

"Very well, if such a delay is truly unacceptable, if you would allow me to use one of my Authorities I can take us there immediately so that we could conduct our duel in peace." Taylor said, hiding her annoyance and aggravation behind a calm and collected facade. "Would that be acceptable?"

Watching as the King of Swords slowly pondered her new proposal, Taylor inwardly cringed at the fact that doing so would deplete her current Shards to only one available option, since two of them were still recharging from empowering both herself and Anit with Uber-type shards earlier during their training.

Sure, for once what she was facing was not a battle to the death, the possibility of the King of Swords killing her in case of her defeat being practically nonexistent. But even so, she disliked the fact she would be limiting herself simply to pander to the silly whims of her 'sibling'.

"Really? Okay then, that works too." Salvatore finally decided, letting go of his sword and casually standing there like they were simply talking about the weather. "Let's go!"

 **"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need, invest me with thy might, empower me with thy graces, for I am the agent of thy will!"**

But even as the words of the aria for her Shards of Infinity left her lips, another possible venue of thought presented itself, her mind swiftly analyzing the idea as she spoke the chant.

Sure, killing the King of Swords was far more trouble than it was worth. But what if she could simply neutralize him without killing him?

He was already allowing her to use an Authority on him, so why not take advantage of that and end the fight before it even started?

After all, she had already made excellent use of an Uber-type shard, so why not see if she would have similar success with another power from her past, more specifically Victor's skill theft power? Since, despite retaining his Authorities in such a scenario, the King of Swords would hardly be a threat without his superb sword skills. Not to mention how that would be killing two birds with a stone, for she doubted she could find a more accomplished master in the art of swordsmanship than the man that became a Campione due to said skill.

But then again, considering a Campione's inherent magical resistance, there was a very real chance that in order for that to work with the blonde idiot she would have to make direct and intimate physical contact.

A small look of disgust briefly crossing her features, Taylor decided to save that idea as a possible contingency for a last case scenario. Not to mention that doing so would not only turn Doni into a definite enemy, but it would also most likely cause the other Devil-kings to grow wary of her and the possibility of her stealing their skills too.

Internally grumbling her annoyance she instead asked for a Mover power and selected its strength to a six. More than enough to take them where they needed to go, but also lasting more than enough to work as a viable escape option should she need it.

"Very well, Lord Salvatore, if you could come closer we shall depart immediately." She told him after selecting a power that would allow her to teleport up to three tons at a time within a distance of five hundred kilometers, as long as she knew where she was going and concentrated at the destination.

Turning to give Anit an order to stay put, and perhaps prevent the Council operatives from doing something foolish while suffering from their collective panic attacks, Taylor was surprised to note that her loyal minion was already standing right next to her. Steely eyes all but daring her to try and send her away.

"Okay Taylor, let's go. Upon arrival I shall retreat to a safe distance in order to observe the battle, and if it proves necessary, offer you aid afterwards." She firmly stated before Taylor could say anything else. "Heavens knows you seem to need someone to watch over you."

Holding the Egyptian mage's gaze for a long moment Taylor finally nodded, having seen nothing but steely resolve within the other's gaze. And besides, part of her mind could not help but point out that Anit did have a point, having someone capable of healing them afterwards could only help.

"Very well, but do be careful and do not interfere before the duel is over. Understood?" She firmly stated, receiving a nod of agreement from her minion.

Turning towards Doni now placidly awaiting form, she inclined her head in a silent question regarding if he was ready, a question that was answered by a beaming smile and an energetic thumbs up from the Italian Campione.

Not wasting another moment she focused at the gorge that encompassed the area where she trained nearly daily, fixing the image on her mind and allowing her Authority to do the rest.

And so, with a loud thunderclap they were gone, leaving behind nothing but six, now completely panicked, Council operatives.

 **\V/**

Standing at one side of the large flat area, standing across from her extremely eager looking opponent, Taylor reviewed the rules they had agreed for their duel as Anit took flight away from the soon to be battlefield.

Now that the fight he wanted was all but guaranteed Doni had become surprisingly accommodating, having readily agreed to all her terms with not even a hint of protest.

Not that the terms she had set were anything truly cumbersome. Being little more than an agreement to avoid lethal force, keep the fight contained within the gorge and end the fight the moment one of them became unconscious or unable to continue, not to mention establishing a twenty minutes time limit to their duel.

The last was something she was particularly happy of sneaking in, for not only it meant that her new teleportation power would be active during the entire fight, it would also mean that not only would she easily be able choose a top tier power with little regard for time duration with her last shard, but if need be it also meant that she could use her Golden Hero without any fear of reaching it's time limit mid battle.

Not that she had any intention of using said Authority here, after all, while indubitably extraordinarily powerful, its harsh cool down period meant she would rather save it for a trump card if needed.

After all, she was pretty sure that had she been able to use the Golden Hero during the battle against Leviathan, that she would have been able to best the beast with said Authority alone. Instead of being forced to use no less than three shards and two more Authorities to ensure her victory.

That left her with her Master of the Sands, Ocean's Shroud and Terror of the Depths, not to mention her already active Eternity's Sight, current Teleportation Shard and one untapped Shard in reserve, which was more than enough for this, especially considering how both her Sands and Shroud Authorities had no cool down or time limits.

"Shall we begin?" She asked her opponent, a hint of eagerness entering her voice as she let her polite mask fade away, part of her, now that no innocents were in the line of fire, keenly wanting to know how she measured up against one of this world's Devil-kings.

A large shining smile was all the answer her opponent gave her as he drew his long sword, his whole body all but radiating eagerness at what was to come.

 **"I hereby swear, I forbid the existence of things I cannot cut!"** Doni cheerfully exclaimed, a silver gleam enveloping first his right arm and then his sword as the power of the Authority took effect.

She recognized it from the reports made about the Italian God-slayer, Ripping Arm of Silver, his first and most used Authority, and under the gaze of her Sight Taylor could immediately tell why it was so.

The chant of Doni's Authority was almost self explanatory, for, from what she could see, the Authority allowed Doni to not only extend the edge of anything he touched to nearly ludicrous degrees, but also imbue any object he touched with an edge capable to cut through basically anything. The only downsides of the power being that the tougher something was to cut, or the more he extended his weapons edge, the more energy intensive the Authority became.

It was a truly excellent offensive power, but nonetheless she was not overtly worried about it. After all, it would be hardly the first time she would be facing a supposedly unblockable power, nor would it be her first time facing something that could down her in a single strike. Point in fact she had a tried and tested strategy for such powers, an extremely simple, but surprisingly effective strategy at that.

Simply don't get hit.

" **Come forth guardians of the desert, arise keepers of the wastelands! Heed my call, from the shifting dunes I summon you, emerge I command you, for the billowing sands are my domain!"** She announced her Authority's aria, the sand that made her constructs appearing out of the ether and swiftly gathering into their forms.

But even as they assembled under the King of Swords interested gaze, a random thought made itself known to her, a thought that made a small impish smile to appear on her face as she slightly altered the command she had issue to the Authority.

Not only was she about to face another Campione on a duel, but said duel would undoubtedly soon be watched by the whole of the Council of the Sands, and, through them, eventually the rest of the magical world.

This was no longer simply a fight, but an exhibition match.

And as such what was seen could make or break her budding reputation. And so, instead of the simple but effective sand scarabs she had used against Leviathan, she ordered her Authority to do something a little more complex.

And so they formed all around her, first one, then two, then a dozen and a dozen more. Clad in intricately detailed scale armor and wielding long, wicked looking halberds, an army of sand warriors formed up at parade rest around her, their featureless helmets pointed straight towards Salvatore's now madly grinning form.

With a grandiose gesture she pointed her arm at her opponent, a general ordering her troops, her warriors immediately obeying her command and charging at him with their halberds lowered, a wall of weapons in perfect formation rushing forward at speeds comparable to an Olympic athlete, ready to skewer all those reckless enough to defy their liege.

At the sight of the horde bearing down on him Doni's smile grew even larger, a manic glint on his eyes as he darted forward even faster than her sand warriors, his sword already swinging at a parallel arc with the ground and it's blade shining a gleaming silver color.

The strike was extremely fast and deceitfully effective at its simplicity, as the blade suddenly grew to impossible proportions at the blink of an eye, a shining plane of silver snaking fort in an arc of energy over thirty feet long, creating a sweeping attack clearly intent to clear away large numbers of enemies with a single strike.

But with the knowledge her Eternity's Sight provide her, for all its speed, Doni's blow may as well have been telegraphed, her mind having accompanied every step of its execution long before he ever started the swing.

Half of Taylor's army ducked low, the other jumped right, both halves acting the very same moment Doni's strike started, allowing them to avoid the lightning fast attack by mere inches.

And yet said fact hardly seemed to bother the swordsman, much to the contrary. A huge pleased smile fixed upon his features Doni hurled himself towards her soldiers, sword once again at its normal size and flashing forth like a rippling web of silver.

Each of his swings took down three or more of her warriors, but with each second that passed more of them formed from the sands she commanded, each of her constructs that fell only adding more material for her to work with.

Watching him dodge a thrust from one of her warriors, while blocking a swiping strike from another and taking down two more with the following move, all in the time of a single heartbeat, Taylor had to admit Lord Salvatore Doni was an impressive warrior.

And as she saw him demolish a score more of her constructs while only receiving minor scuff marks upon his clothes, his sword a never stopping web of silver dancing all around him, she acknowledge that his title as the 'King of Swords' was every bit as well deserved as his less flattering title.

But for all his sword skill and martial might, Taylor's research had shown that her opponent had a glaring flaw, a flaw she had all intention of exploiting to the fullest, for if what she had read was right, Doni had absolutely no skills whatsoever with magic.

" **Mighty Ra, Lord of the Sun, bestow upon this warrior the power of your eternal flame!"**

She chanted while pointing her two hands towards her opponent, a massive fireball forming between them before being shot forth with the speed of a bullet.

She saw Doni tense through her Sight the moment she let loose the fireball, some kind of instinct alerting the Devil-king of the attack despite the fact he was thoroughly busy cutting through her horde. The blonde swordsman spinning in place with incredible speed, clearing his immediate vicinity of all enemies for a moment with a large swing of his sword, before bringing it down towards her fireball with pinpoint accuracy.

' _Now, that won't do.'_ She teasingly thought as his blade darted towards her attack, intent upon cleaving it in two and erasing it from existence.

Only for her fireball to explode the very instant before the blade would connect, the explosion happening too far away from him to truly cause any harm, but close enough for the concussive force of the blast's shockwave to unbalance Doni slightly.

And yet the blonde God-slayer recovered impossibly fast, regaining his footing in a fraction of an instant, all while taking down a dozen of attackers and avoiding a dozen more, flipping about and around the thrusting and swiping halberds with enviable ease, all in time to extend his blade in order to intercept the two next fireballs thrown his way further away from his body so that the shockwaves from the explosions would no longer disrupt his footing.

Taylor could easily admit that she was impressed. Not only was Salvatore Doni clearly a superb warrior, but he also adapted unnaturally fast to any new situations mid battle. Taking in her new form of attack almost instantaneously and reacting accordingly to negate the new threat.

A true battle genius.

And yet, even genius had its limits, as the two vivid crimson lines, one at his lower torso and the other upon his left arm, could attest. Blood slowly sipping from the deep wounds her sand warriors halberds had inflicted during their unrelenting assault.

But despite being the first to be wounded, Doni's manic smile seemed to grow even wider, his glee and excitement seeming to only grow now that he had been injured.

"You are good." He cheerfully exclaimed in a conversational tone, despite the fact he was simultaneously dealing with her soldiers and her raining fireballs. "And a mage to boot too! That was a really fun trick!"

"Let's see just how good you are!" He gleefully shouted before suddenly bursting through her warriors and straight towards her, running at her while taking down everything on his way.

Cupping her hands together before bringing them apart she summoned forth a massive fireball, the orb of fire growing even as Doni swiftly approached. Despite the fact the King of Swords was all but upon her, Taylor's concentration did not waver, as the crimson sphere of flames turned first blue and then white, as its heat increased exponentially, reaching said point the very moment the blonde swordsman reached striking distance of Taylor's body.

Following the incoming strike with her Eternity's Sight she waited until the very last possible moment, the blade mere inches from her torso, before teleporting to the other side of the battlefield and away from the silver blade with a clap of thunder.

All the while leaving the beach ball sized sphere of white flames right where it was, right next to a now wide eyed King of Swords. A large ball of flames that detonated with explosive force immediately afterwards, hiding the Italian Campione's body from view amidst a roaring sea of flames.

Despite the billowing dust cloud caused by the explosion Taylor's Sight remained unimpaired thanks to her Authority, allowing her to see that the fight was far from over. A mental command and her warriors took formation all around the rising cloud of dust, halberds lowered and at the ready, while a score more of her constructs came into existence around her, armed with throwing javelins ready to be launched.

"Wow, that was close!" The cheerful voice of the Sixth Campione came from amidst the cloud, as he calmly walked out of the site of the explosion, only the fact his jacket was now tattered at the edges showing he had taken the explosion head on.

That and the fact that both said clothing and the Devil-king wearing it were now a gleaming metallic color.

Man of Steel, Salvatore Doni's second most well known Authority, obtained by slaying the Norse Heretic God Siegfried, it granted his body the strength and resilience of steel, with the possibility of raising said defense even higher by increasing his body's weight, in some ways not unlike her own Golden Hero.

But as she analyzed the Authority with her Eternity's Sight, Taylor could already see quite a few differences, for, unlike her own power, Doni's Authority was purely defensive. And while it lacked the time limitation of her own Authority, it instead had a hard limit to how much he could raise the weight of his body, and likewise the defensive boost it provided.

Of course, a cap of around twelve tons was hardly what most would consider a terrible restriction, especially considering the lack of time constraints associated and that the Italian Campione didn't need to _breathe_ while the Authority remained active.

"Really nice trick! Let's see what else you got!" The blonde swordsman eagerly shouted out, rushing towards her while taking out her warriors and bating aside the javelins thrown his way, his agility apparently unaffected by the fact he now weighted over three tons.

Seeing his energy coalescing upon his blade Taylor immediately teleported to the other side of the area, avoiding the mammoth silver blade that swapped through over a third of the battlefield, cutting down several scores of her constructs and carving through a good two feet of the rock wall of the gorge. Only to be forced to teleport once again almost immediately afterwards in order to avoid a follow up strike.

Eyes narrowing in annoyance, she noted that keeping her distance was clearly not to her advantage, for Doni's sword strikes didn't lose any of their speed and swiftness no matter how large he made the blade.

Teleporting twice more, while noting that the few strikes of her warriors that were bypassing Doni's blindingly fast sword were in fact managing to score superficial wounds at his steel skin, Taylor decide upon how to proceed.

For despite the regrettable fact that her current Mover power was not suited for close quarter combat, in the end she only needed a boost to her speed strong enough to keep ahead of the other Campione's seeking blade. And that was something that wouldn't even demand her last remaining Shard to rectify.

For while she knew that trying to use magic directly against Doni would be utterly futile while he had Man of Steel active, that did not mean the arcane arts were not the answer to her problem. For while she wouldn't be able to overcome his defenses in order to allow mere magic to affect the blonde swordsman, that did not mean she could not use magic to affect herself.

" **Ever present Shu, Holder of the Sky, grant upon this warrior the speed of the fierce gale!"** She chanted while teleporting away from Doni's latest attack and ordering three dozen of her sand warriors to all but dog pile him, buying her the few seconds needed for the spell to take effect.

Taylor immediately felt the difference, both though her own body and through her enchanted Sight. She felt as the wind magic she had evoked took hold of her limbs, reducing her weight while increasing her speed considerably.

Ducking low another strike and blasting forth at five times her normal speed, Taylor took a moment to wonder what any watchers from the Council would think upon seeing her use a high level wind spell after having used another high level fire spell earlier.

Shaking off such thoughts away she focused at the fight at hand, and the next steep of her plan, now that she could deal with the sheer speed of her opponent's strikes.

For while her opponent's steel skin was indeed a formidable defense, it was hardly insurmountable. After all, as both Leviathans had amply demonstrated to her in more than one occasion, pressurized water moving at high enough speeds could punch through just about anything, including steel.

" **Rise, oh, crushing tides! Roar, oh, raging waves! Protect me with your mighty mantle, embrace me with your ever shifting cloak! For the surging seas are mine to command!"**

The moment the words left her mouth water surged forth, swiftly enveloping her whole body with an inch thick mantle of completely transparent water, which grew with every moment that passed. The watery layer floating all around her responding to her thought as if just another limb.

Darting forth she coordinated her assault, two scores of her warriors simultaneously attacking Doni from both sides in a flanking maneuver, a shower of sand javelins being thrown towards him from dozens of different directions in order to help hinder his movements, all the while she herself charged right in towards him with supernatural speed.

In response the blonde Campione ran towards her with renewed vigor, arm nothing but a blur as it created a web of silver all around him, taking down both her projectiles and minions alike, his smile wider than ever now that she herself entered the fray.

Gracefully somersaulting a lightning fast strike and twirling in the air with the acrobatic skill of an Olympian athlete in order to avoid another swing of his blade, she sent forth three water tendrils, snaking through the air just as fast as her opponent's strikes.

Watching as Doni managed to block two of her strikes, but only partially avoid the third, the watery whip scoring a short but deep line at the edge of his shoulder, Taylor felt herself giving the King of Swords an answering smile.

And so, as if that was some form of signal, they both kicked their fight into high gear. The King of Sword's strikes increasing in speed even further, annihilating anything that dared touch his swords edge, while his defense shrugged off all attacks with little problem. Taylor darting and twisting amidst the web of silver being woven by her opponent, snake-like tendrils of water striking at her opponent with lightning quick strikes, while her never ending horde harassed him from all sides.

Using the back of one of her warriors as a platform, Taylor launched herself sideways in order to escape a particularly vicious combo from her opponent, her Ocean's Shroud surging forth automatically and sacrificing part of its mass in order to slow down an impossibly fast follow up strike for long enough for her to escape the attack.

Taking a page from her home reality's Leviathan's trick book Taylor darted forth with as much speed as she could manage, Doni tracking her every step and readying himself despite her swift movements. Closing in with her opponent she waited until the very last second before jumping sideways and away from his awaiting blade, while sending forth nearly the entirety of her Shroud, the water echo rushing onwards with every single scrap of speed she had been carrying and barreling at the surprised looking swordsman with all the strength of a speeding freight train.

Nodding in satisfaction at both the damage inflicted and how her attack had caused Doni to backpedal slightly, Taylor jumped backwards in order to escape any retaliatory strikes and wait for her Shroud to regenerate, while sending a wave of warriors onwards intending on keeping the pressure against the blonde swordsman.

But even so, her opponent kept proving exactly why he was a Campione.

Doni's ever shifting form was awe-inspiring to watch, his arm blurring forth with effortless ease, his silver gleaming sword taking down scores of her sand warriors with supernatural grace.

Each step he took either took him away from the path of an incoming attack or placed him into the perfect position for him to strike, every movement was perfectly contained, never taking him an inch forward more than precisely what was needed. Watching the Sixth Campione twirling and dodging dozens of strikes coming forth from all around him, while swiftly dispatching all the sand warriors that so much as came near his sword, Taylor could easily see why he had been titled the King of Swords.

She had heard from a few sword wielding heroes about the myth of a transcending sword style. The peak all sword masters sought to achieve. A free form sword style, holding all the benefits of the regimented and solidly structured forms, while remaining completely free and unbound by those very same formulaic patterns.

Personally she always thought that was pure nonsense, the kind of thing one could expect to find in a kung-fu movie and not in real life. But now, now watching as Doni jumped off his feet to escape the water whip she had just sent against his legs, twirling in the air to avoid seven sand spears coming from three different directions, and striking down eight of her sand warriors despite the awkward and unwieldy angle of his strike, or the fact he was still airborne and therefore had no footholds to use but was still somehow blocking her onslaught, made her rethink that assumption.

It was a level of swordsmanship that she hadn't even believed to be possible, a demonstration of sheer skill she sincerely doubted she could achieve even with the help of her Shards.

But while ducking low in order to avoid a sweeping blow that cut in half over a dozen of her constructs, blurring forth with her magically enhanced speed while shooting a barrage of marble sized water spheres against his steel covered form , she realized she really shouldn't have been surprised.

After all, not only was he a mortal who had slain a god, but he was also a mortal that had slain a god known on his legend due to his feats with a sword, with nothing more than pure swordsmanship.

A fierce grin on her face as she pushed Doni backwards with a combination of water bullets, water whips, and her never ending horde of sand warriors, watching as he blocked or dodged her onslaught with a deeply pleased grin on his own face, Taylor could freely admit she would have gladly traded an arm if that meant this battle hungry nut-job had been there during the fight against Scion.

But even if he was a truly incredible warrior, and a swordsman without compare, his superb skills meant very little against what he couldn't either see or predict.

' _Gotcha.'_ She smugly thought, her small grin growing a few molars more pronounced as the Italian Campione jumped backwards in order to avoid two of her water whips that had attempted to grab hold of his legs.

Jumped backwards, away from her and into the area with the smallest concentration of her warriors, and right where she wanted him.

The sand beneath the Sixth Campione's feet exploded upwards the very moment he touched the ground, a massive form swiftly grabbing him with two gigantic pincers and not giving him time to regain a proper footing or get enough traction to move before lurching him upwards into the air.

Grinning broadly she watched Doni's metallic form being kept suspended by the massive sand centipede she had slowly created beneath their battlefield. The sand construct easily towering over them, being more than fifty feet long and eight feet wide, being more than capable of holding the Campione suspended and trapped by the two pincers protruding from its head and dozens of its legs securely wrapped around his limbs, denying him any room for movement he could use to swing his sword.

"Wow, that was surprising!" Her immobilized opponent said with such undisguised glee that Taylor couldn't help but chuckle.

"Will you surrender? After all, you cannot cut my minion without touching him with your sword's edge." She asked of her opponent while two other massive sand centipedes burst out of the sandy ground. "And I assure you that they can hold on to you no matter what."

Waiting as Doni took on a deeply thoughtful look for a moment, clearly considering her request, she felt confident that he would not be able to escape even if he increased the weight of his Authority to the max. For as she had learned after days of practice, the physical strength of her constructs was directly proportional to their size, and so her three gargantuan centipedes would have more than enough strength to hold even several tons of steel suspended.

"Nope!" Doni cheerfully replied, his large smile not changing in the slightest as he gathered his power and started to chant.

 **"Oh priestesses of Bacchus, be drunk with the wine of gods!"** He proudly proclaimed as the world all around them was suddenly infused with the power of his word, and causing chaos to explode all around them.

Taylor's army simply went mad the moment the words had been uttered, from the javelin wielding soldiers at the back, to the carefully organize regiments of halberd carrying warriors, up to and including her three massive centipedes, they all went complete awry in a fraction of a second, completely ignoring her commands and going out of her control.

She couldn't help but stop and stare in astonishment for a moment, as her army turned against themselves in a heartbeat, attacking everything and everyone in sight without rhyme or reason, every construct that was slain immediately being reconstructed in ever more bizarre forms. And to add insult to injury, she swiftly realized that she couldn't even shut down the out of control Authority.

Her shock lasted but a second longer, her Ocean's Shroud surging forth automatically to block the strikes of two of her sand warriors breaking her out of it.

Darting between a rain of sand javelins, while dodging the gargantuan silver sword her now freed opponent was swing at her as he fell back to the ground, the massive centipedes meant to hold him captive having let him go free as they engaged each other into what amounted to a kaiju battle, Taylor racked her brain for what she knew about the Authority Doni had just used.

Divine Confusion, the Authority he had acquired after slaying Dionysus, Olympian god of wine and insanity, an Authority whose sole purpose was to drive another Authority completely out of control.

Sending a barrage of water bullets against her madly grinning opponent, while they both ducked and dodged within the insane brawl the battlefield had become, Taylor now felt extraordinarily glad that she had wasted one of her Shards in order to remove them to this secluded area before they engaged in battle.

Teleporting to the other side of the battlefield in order to avoid being smashed by the falling form of one of her sand centipedes, she shuddered as she considered what could have happened should this madness have erupted anywhere near Cairo proper.

Sending four lightning fast water whips towards his swiftly approaching form, forcing him to parry and cut off the watery appendages and slowing him down for a moment, only for him to be forced to disengage as one of the remaining centipedes attempted to crush him with both its pincers and its massive bulk, she intently analyzed what information her Eternity's Sight could give her regarding Doni's latest Authority, seeking out how to deal with it.

Crushing five mismatched sand constructs with her watery appendages, while dodging two more and watching the King of Swords cut the gargantuan centipede from top to bottom in a single move, she decided that what she was seeing wasn't exactly reassuring.

For his Divine Confusion not only had no time limitation to its use, but while it could only affect one single Authority at a time, Doni could actually change the target of said Authority with little trouble.

Making the possibility that he could change his Divine Confusion's focus from her Master of the Sands to another of her Authorities into a very real threat, and considering the fact she was currently completely enveloped by an active Authority, that was a threat she simply could not allowed to pass.

Dodging a flurry of blows from her opponent, before blasting him backwards with another high speed water echo, she firmed her resolve, a plan already forming within her mind.

 **"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need, invest me with thy might, empower me with thy graces, for I am the agent of thy will!"**

She solemnly intoned, ready to end this fight. After all, she had already proven she could take on her opponent's Ripping Arm of Silver and Men of Steel, and considering how his last remaining Authority, Back to Medieval Times, would be of absolutely no use against her in this battle, his Divine Confusion immediately became the highest existing threat to her victory.

A threat she knew perfectly well how to neutralize.

A large predatory smile firm upon her features she accepted the level ten Trump power that her Shards were offering to her. Dodging another flurry of strikes and inhaling deeply, she concentrated her newly formed power towards its intended target, and then she screamed.

A loud reverberating scream that proceeded to echo and reverberate within the gorge's walls, the high pitch sound lingering for far longer than should be natural, lasting long after she had closed her mouth.

Smile firmly into place Taylor watched as her sand minions stopped where they stood, the corrupting energy that had been infecting then disappearing due to the effects of the Power Nullifying Trump power she had just acquired temporarily blocking Doni's Authority.

A simple flex of her will and her army was once again at attention and falling in position, weapons ready and pointing towards her foe, her watery mantle swiftly flowing all around her, four watery tendrils calmly swaying at her sides and ready to strike at her command, and her sole remaining giant centipede looming overhead right behind her.

And yet, despite the clear show of strength displayed against him, despite the numerous dents and scratches littering his steely form, the King of Swords massively pleased smile remained unchanged, a smile that Taylor realized she was reciprocating at least in part.

Slightly bending her knees she prepared to launch herself forth towards her fellow Campione, her sand constructs tensing in kind, ready to join her in her charge. While on the other side of the field Doni had raised his sword into a ready stance and lowered his center of gravity, ready to tackle her onslaught head on.

They stared at each other for but a moment, both seeing the thrill of battle in each other's gaze, before they moved. Taylor leading her army's charge and Doni blasting forward in defiance, his silver sword gleaming stronger than ever.

A mental twist and Taylor sent her four tendrils forth with the speed of a striking viper, and her massive sand centipede lunging towards her foe, whose sword was already blurring onwards with such speed that it was nothing but a silver blur.

Only for a loud high-pitched noise to reverberate through the battlefield, the incongruous mechanical noise so out of place that both God-slayers actually stopped on their tracks to see where it was coming from.

The full weight of the stares of two Campiones bearing down upon her pale faced form, Anit felt the extremely strong urge to be anywhere else, right alongside the desire to flee as fast as possible despite the fact she was safely standing atop the gorge's walls.

Shaking off such feelings Anit refocused at the situation at hand, at the task she had received, raising her cell phone to show to both Devil-kings its current display. A display that was showing that twenty minutes had already passed.

"Ahhh, and things were starting to really get fun too." The blond swordsman all but whined, completely ignoring the dozens of sand warriors frozen mid strike all around him as he calmly sheathed his sword back at its scabbard.

"Oh, well. Guess this means this duel is a draw." Doni cheerfully stated, giving Taylor a beaming smile despite the fact there was a water tendril floating less than six inches away from his face. "You really are strong, this was a great battle!"

Blinking in befuddlement for a moment, while her mind processed this new turn of events, Taylor finally ended up letting out a small amused chuckle. As she realized she had gotten so caught up in their duel that she had completely forgotten about the imposed time limit.

"So are you, your sword skills were very impressive." She readily replied, a small smile on her face as her army slowly dissolved back into mere sand.

"Thanks!" The Italian Campione chirped, his skin returning to a normal color as he deactivated his Man of Steel, his incredibly happy mood apparently not being affected in the slightest by the fact that a few of his injuries were now slowly bleeding now that his body had blood once again. "We really have to do this again sometime! I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

Considering it for a moment, balancing how he had acted, the duel they had just fought, and everything else she knew about him, Taylor realized that this was a golden opportunity. For while dangerously reckless and slightly idiotic, not only was he not malicious, but Salvatore Doni's skills in battle were undeniable.

"I would not be adverse to that." Taylor politely said, her words gaining her a beaming smile from her fellow Campione and an aghast expression from Anit.

"That's awesome! I'll hold you to that!" He happily proclaimed while crossing both arms behind his head.

Taylor simply smiled as she let go of her Ocean's Shroud, mind already thinking about the possibilities of being on friendly terms with one of her 'siblings', and how that could later on turn into a quite beneficial alliance.

And so, while thinking about it, she remembered a very important fact. Looking to the cheerfully smiling blonde man, Taylor considered this new course of action for a moment before deciding that following it was indeed the best course of action.

"So Doni, have you eaten lunch yet?"

 **\V/**

Stiffly standing at a corner of the room, watching the two God-slayers enthusiastically demolishing several plates of food from the buffet her liege had taken then to after the battle, Anit wondered how exactly she had reached this point.

Watching her liege casually banter about inane topics with her fellow Devil-king, both of them apparently having put aside the fact they had been attempting to rip each other's heads off mere minutes ago in a show of pure power few could say to have ever witnessed, and acting as long lost friends, Anit couldn't help but groan while wondering how the hell had this become her life.

Here she was, a formerly no name member of Egypt's Mage Association, now the only retainer of the Eighth Campione, a position that somehow made her into one of the most important persons in Egypt. Acting as some kind of chaperone to two of the most dangerous beings on the planet, who were now cordially talking with each other despite the fact they had been all but trying to kill each other less than fifteen minutes ago in an all out brawl of titanic proportions.

Watching as the King of Swords complimented Taylor about her skills in commanding her sand minions, and her liege reciprocating with a sincere compliment about the other's sword skills. Both of them completely ignoring the uproar that she knew had to be overtaking the Council right at this very moment, Anit couldn't help but groan in frustration, left hand massaging her brow in a vain attempt to stave off a coming headache.

"Yes, that's a very common reaction I'm afraid." A cultured voice spoke from her side with a deeply understanding tone of voice.

Turning her head slightly to the side, Anit took in the older man, with his salt and pepper hair, wearing a well tailored suit, placidly standing right next to her, and the small commiserating smile he was giving her.

"But where are my manners? Andrea Rivera, Doni's chaperone and minder, it's a pleasure." He placidly said while extending his hand in greeting.

Shaking the hand of the older Italian man, Anit suddenly realized that he was in fact what amounted to her own counterpart in regards to Lord Salvatore. And so, looking at the placid but understanding smile he was giving her, not a trace of worry or stress upon his features, she decided upon trying to clarify a new worry that had been recently plaguing her.

"Does it get any easier?" She bluntly asked, a nod of her head towards the two cheerfully talking God-slayers eating at the table all the explanation needed to what she was enquiring about.

"No, not in the slightest." He immediately replied, a slightly strained flavor entering his smile for a brief moment. "But you do get more used to it with time."

' _Somehow, that's both at the same time reassuring and not reassuring at all.'_ Anit inwardly deadpanned, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she considered the older mage's words.

"So what was it like?" She heard Doni's cheerful voice resonating through the restaurant, cutting short her train of thought as she refocused upon the two Devil-kings words.

"What, what was it like?" Taylor replied with a confused tilt of her head.

"Being a super-spy obviously!" The blonde swordsman excitedly asked, making Anit inwardly groan as she realized the absurd theories regarding her liege's past had apparently reached Italy. "Working for a secret government organization, having cool scy-fi gadgets, saving the world! All the bells and whistles!"

"Nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds like, actually." Taylor easily replied, her tone of voice completely serious as she calmly took another bite of her meal.

Turning her head towards her liege so fast she nearly got whiplash, Anit stared incredulously as Taylor kept talking with perfect seriousness, apparently completely unconcerned about who could hear what they were talking about.

"Truth be told, being an operative working for the government is a chore and a half. Working long irregular hours, dealing with unreasonable bosses who have no idea how things really work in the field, and don't even start me on all the paperwork!" She ranted, an angry edge entering her words at the last part. "Besides, when you realize that most of the supposed 'Vilains' tend to end up having more morals than your bosses, then you realize it's time to fold your hand and call it quits."

"Personally, I wouldn't recommend it as a career choice." She finished towards Doni with a serious look, the blonde Campione giving her a nod of understanding while chewing another morsel.

Staring unblinkingly towards Taylor's placidly eating form, Anit seriously considered the possibility that her liege could be purposefully trolling them all. But at the same time, the utterly truthful and nonchalant way she had just spoken about the subject made her somehow doubt it.

"Though I do admit, the gadgets were indeed really nice." Taylor added on as if an afterthought in a reminiscent tone of voice, a small silly grin on her features.

Fighting down an eye twitch she could feel developing, Anit surrendered to the inevitable and allowed her head to rest upon the palm of her hand. Groaning in exasperation at the mere thought of the pandemonium this newest rumor would cause.

The deeply commiserating pats upon her shoulder, the profoundly understanding look, and the equally strained smiled Andrea was giving her were also not really helping.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

This ended up being the longest chapter I've written for this story so far, ending up being over nine thousand words long, primarily due to the fact that I didn't want to cut Taylor's duel with Doni in half. But in the end I can't complain, since the chapter shaped up nicely in my opinion.

Personally I think that someone as practical as Taylor wouldn't let go of the chance of making even a tentative alliance with someone as strong as Doni, since he isn't inherently malicious or an active threat to her or those under her protection. Specially after considering that it was possible, if a little of a chore, to guide his recklessness and blood lust so that he wouldn't harm innocents, which is why I ended this up in a friendly manner between them.

The fact this exasperated poor Anit to no end and made the rumors regarding Taylor even wilder and more ludicrous was just a bonus.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	13. Chapter 13 - Conspiracy Theories

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, I would like to give a very special thanks to all my followers and those of you who leave reviews! For as of the last chapter this story now has over a thousand reviews and over two thousand followers! Thanks for all the support!

Thirdly, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Conspiracy Theories…**

Abasi Ubaid knew perfectly well his place in the order of things. He knew his purpose, the reason why he had been brought into this world, the same reason all those born to his clan carried since time immemorial.

He was a shadow amidst the darkness, a silent blade patiently waiting for its master's command. A shadow servant honor bond to one who walked in the light.

He had served his Lord unquestioningly since he was but a child, protecting both him and his interests, safeguarding him from all threats as he did his bidding. He had killed Mage Knights and Earth Witches without a moment's hesitation, had stood his ground against both Divine Beasts and Arcane Abominations without flinching, and even crossed blades with others whom like him dwelled in the shadows without a second thought.

Never faltering, never questioning, all for the honor of his clan and his Lord.

And yet, as he stood atop a rocky outcropping in the outskirts of Cairo, hidden away underneath several dozen spells that for all intents and purposes made him completely undetectable to both magical and mundane means, for the first time in his life Abasi found himself actually questioning if his Lord truly understood the possible consequences of what he was currently planning.

His iron will keeping his breathing nothing but a slow whisper despite his panicked feelings, ensuring not even the slightest chance of a sound that could betray his position could occur despite the fact the active sound dampening spells enshrouding him should be able to take care of it, he stared with wide eyes at the ravaged battleground upon which the two Devil Kings had done battle but moments before.

Where two demons disguising themselves as humans beings had thrown more power against each other than anything he had ever seen before.

He had heard the tales about the Eighth Campione's former battles, but hadn't personally witnessed either of them. And now, he was discovering that hearing about it, or even seeing a recording of said battles, utterly failed to convey the sheer feeling of crushing power that actually being there in person conveyed.

The near incomprehensible amount of Power both God-slayers had unleashed against each other as they vied for supremacy. As inexhaustible sand armies and pure elemental fury clashed against an impossible blade and a unbreakable body.

And it had been nothing more than a _spar_ …

Fighting back a very uncharacteristic shudder Abasi regained control of his drifting and treacherous thoughts, locking them down securely at the back of his mind while allowing his years of training to take over and eradicate whatever doubt he had been feeling.

It was not his place to doubt his Lord. There had to be variables and facts he simply did not have access to that would shine light and validated his plans. Something that would turn what was starting to look like a very unique way of committing suicide into a viable plan.

Lord Zaliki had to know what he was doing. There was no other logical explanation.

 _'Right…?'_ A treacherous part of his mind couldn't help but question as he watched the stone gorge loudly crumble under its own weight due to the massive damage caused by the two Devil-kings' _spar_.

 **\V/**

Princess Alice, the White Hime-miko, the Sage Princess, Speaker of the Witengamot, was currently feeling quite frustrated. Her long blonde hair framing her beautiful features, which were currently locked into a pout, as her green eyes stared past the window of her bedroom.

The source of her frustration and aggravation was centered upon a single individual, more specifically, a Devil-king. That by itself was hardly noteworthy; after all, she was unfortunately very well acquaintanced with feelings of frustration and exasperation caused by the antics of the Children of Pandora.

Of course, the fact it wasn't the Black Prince Alec the one currently giving her a headache was something of a novel experience. After all, sometimes her old acquaintance, and kind of a friend, acted like causing her headaches was one of his main purposes in life.

But no, this time Alec wasn't even the slightest bit involved with the source of her current headache, a source that had managed to completely scramble all her plans by herself. Despite the fact they hadn't ever even set foot in the same country at the same time, much less even seen each other.

Taylor Hebert, the Eighth Campione.

Her emerald gaze briefly passing over a series of reports that she had already all but memorized, Princess Alice pondered about the newest God-slayer. About the sudden wildcard that had appeared as if out of nowhere.

A young woman who had no official past that, nonetheless, seemed to have both an intrinsic knowledge regarding the world's underworld, and quite a few connections in some very interesting places.

Picking up a specific report, she wondered how someone like this Taylor had ever got involved with the Moonlit World, much less became a Campione. After all, most governments were kept well away from the truth about magic by their countries own Magic Associations.

So how exactly a government operative, or perhaps former operative was the right word, had gotten involved into a magical debacle of such proportions that she had ended up facing against a Heretic-god, was something she really would like to know.

And she was an operative of some organization of another, of that Alice was absolutely sure. After all, how else could one explain the fact that the Eighth Campione currently received what amounted to quite the substantial monthly stipend from the American Government itself?

It had been incredibly tricky for the Witengamot to get ahold of such information, but in the end one of their agent's, who had quite some skill with computers, had managed to narrow it down. All the way from a fiscal paradise nameless account that Taylor had accessed, through dozens of others dummy accounts, and finally back to the Pentagon itself. Unsurprisingly, he had been unable to breach the insane levels of cyber security surrounding the place, but in the end there was no need for that, the confirmation that the money was coming from there was undeniable, even if they probably would never hear about the details.

And that when added with what little else had been found by the Egyptian Mage Association regarding Taylor, both her skills and her underworld connections, made for quite the intriguing picture.

After all, it wasn't every day when a wetworks operative became a God-slayer.

' _The King of the Underworld's reaction to that bit of news will also be something to behold, I bet.'_ She mused for a moment, wondering how the American Hero would react to the news that what basically amounted to a government assassin was now a Campione, and one that was apparently sponsored by _his_ country at that.

But that was not the source of her irritation, no matter the fact that quite a few high ranking people were having panic attacks when confronted with said possibility. No, the source of her frustration was something else, something that had nothing to do with Taylor's past, and everything to do with her mere presence.

The fact that her carefully implemented and measured plans were now derailed beyond all recognition, that her ability to see future events had been somehow compromised.

It was not that she had lost her gift of clairvoyance; she could still gaze past the veils of the present and watch the shadowy glimpses of the future with the same ease as ever. No, the problem was that all her painstakingly made plans for the future, built upon dozens, if not hundreds, of carefully made uses of her Seer powers, were now completely useless, as the future itself drastically changed from its original course. Rendering all previous views and whatever information she may had acquired completely obsolete.

It was almost as if Taylor's very presence had completely altered the very flow of history, undeniable changing the flow of the future.

Looking at the picture of the black haired woman who was the unknowing source of her current problem, Princess Alice couldn't help but let out a half amused, half exasperated laugh.

She knew that her annoyance was actually caused by her own wounded pride more than anything else. After nearly two decades as the strongest Clairvoyant in the planet she had almost forgotten the annoyance of having another Seer mudding up her own view of the future, her own strength allowing her to simply bypass such pesky issues.

A pesky issue that now was making itself gleefully known, as a freaking Campione with apparently untapped Seer powers was suddenly placed on the playing board, her powers likely interfering with Alice's own abilities due to their raw untapped strength alone.

Campiones as a rule already made a habit of defying fate and prophecy with their mere existence, slightly mudding the waters of the future naturally. But a Clairvoyant Campione? She was probably shaking the future so severely that Alice was quite sure that if not for her own quite significant powers she would be unable to even glimpse the future right now.

The fact that the Eighth Campione probably had no idea of the mess she had caused was just icing on the cake.

Taking a deep breath she forced herself to get over her annoyance. Sure, she would basically have to restart her plans from scratch, but such things did happen, and besides, it had been quite some time since she last had a true challenge that wasn't caused by Alec's antics.

Not to mention that hubris was quite unbecoming and hardly endearing after all.

' _And who knows? If her raw abilities are already this strong, it may even be interesting to see what she could do with some training.'_ She inwardly mused, a beaming smile on her face, her earlier mood dissipating as mist upon the dawn as she considered the possibility of perhaps taking in an apprentice.

Sadly, no matter how curious she was in regards with the newest Devil-King, she wouldn't be able to properly meet her for a while; for the undeniable fact remained that she simply could not dismiss her Spirit Body from its current mission and it was nowhere near Egypt at the moment.

After all, any action taken by the Witch Queen had to be taken seriously, analyzed and observed with the utmost caution as a matter of course.

At the very least, if Guinevere's path remained the same, she may very shortly meet Kusanagi Godou. It would be interesting to see if the rumors regarding that little lady killer held true.

 **\V/**

Tiredly rubbing his brow, Lord Harakty wondered why exactly he had ever wanted the position of Head of the Council when he had been younger. Oh, sure, the power and prestige inherent to the position were indeed very nice benefits, but they didn't really make up for the constant headaches that sadly seemed to come as part and parcel of the job.

Especially on those rare occasions when his subordinates were being even more idiotic than normal, which, considering the level of intelligence they usually displayed, was saying something.

Lady Taylor's _spar_ with Lord Salvatore had been witnessed nearly on its entirety by agents of the Council, the titanic clash between the two Campiones being now recorded and stored for posteriority as a pretty clear clue to all and sundry about why exactly messing with any Devil-king was nothing more nothing less than an extremely bad idea.

One would normally assume that after witnessing firsthand the two young ones throwing around enough power to casually level down the whole of Cairo, for what amounted to a friendly competition of all things, would have made Zaliki and his supporters to stop, carefully consider the situation, take a look at what they were currently doing, and then back the hell down!

But no, he simply wasn't that lucky. For his fellow council member apparently had never been gifted with this wondrous thing nearly all living beings possessed called a survival instinct.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, the leader of Egypt's Mage Association played with the idea of retirement for what felt like the hundredth time this week alone. Only the ice cold knowledge that the whole mess would probably explode magnificently the moment he did so staying his hand from doing exactly that.

Forcing back his aggravation and gathering his thoughts, eyes drifting past the letter he just received, he wondered what exactly he could do to salvage the situation.

Not only were the few facts they had been able to glimpse about Taylor Hebert painting an even more daunting picture with every few fragments of truth they managed to unravel, but this newest information clearly marked that she was not someone to cross lightly.

If not for the source of this newest information he would have dismissed it as pure whimsy, it being simply too fantastical to normally even consider. But considering that it had come from the Witengamot itself of all places, one of the largest and strongest mage organizations in the world, that was sadly not an option.

It was utterly absurd, but the chance of the British organization making such a mistake was so unfathomably low that there was no other option. The Eighth Campione was an American Government Operative, either rogue or retired but that was hardly relevant.

And as if giving someone with that kind of training the powers of a God-slayer was not enough, as a cherry on top of the cake, she was also apparently an utter prodigy in the realm of mage craft. Having mastered both wind and fire manipulation to impossible degrees in mere weeks of training.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he took in a deep breath, and then another, forcing his body to calm down as he searched for an answer. After a few moments of calm meditation he opened his eyes, determination shining from his steel grey orbs.

It was clear that any attempt at either confronting or even influencing her would not go well, someone with her background probably having plenty of experience in both fields. So that left only one approach truly still standing.

Rising from his seat he walked determinedly towards the door, each steep firm and confident. It was time to enter the game in a more direct manner.

 **\V/**

"Yeah, you can shorten the chant if you try hard enough." Salvatore Doni cheerfully spoke as he walked down the street towards Cairo's airport, Taylor following at his side and intently listening to his every word. "It just takes more willpower and energy, oh, and the effect may be a little weaker for some reason, but if you want to, there is no reason why you need the whole chant to make an Authority work."

Following close behind the two Devil-kings alongside Andrea, Anit couldn't help but ask if a busy street was really the best place to discuss the intricacies of something as powerful as an Authority.

But then again, as she was coming to learn under the rule of the Eighth Campione, the God-slayers seemed to have a somewhat estranged relationship with normality, so perhaps she should simply accept it and move on. A decision that was apparently mimicked by her fellow minder, if the slightly resigned expression present on Andrea's face was anything to go by.

"Sure, it kinda exploded the first few times I tried it, and Andrea grumbled about it for weeks afterwards, but it worked!" The King of Swords exuberantly proclaimed, a beaming smile upon his face. An expression that was most assuredly not answered by his chaperone's.

"That harebrained idea of yours nearly ripped off your right arm the first time you tried it! Not to mention the fact it turned the sword you had been holding into an impromptu fragmentation grenade!" Andrea grumbled in annoyance, tired exasperation permeating his every word.

"It took me and a group of healers over three hours to fix you up! And the fact you refused to stay in bed afterwards certainly didn't help! I feel that any grumbling on my part afterwards was more than warranted!" He finished, a slight flush appearing upon his cheeks as he noticed both Campiones and Anit were now staring at him.

"Eh, truth be told I had kind of forgotten that." Doni said nonchalantly while rubbing the back of his head, before a tinge of sadness entered his voice, a melancholic look slowly surfacing on his features as he digested Andrea's words, his blue eyes staring straight into the horizon and a small frown taking over his features for a moment. "Man, I miss that sword."

The look Andrea was sporting was distressingly familiar to the Egyptian Mage, for she was certain that she had sported it more than once ever since meeting Taylor. Taking a step closer to the older mage she comfortingly pated him in the shoulder, receiving a tired smile in thanks for her efforts.

"Something to keep in mind the first few times then." Taylor calmly replied with a solemn nod, as if accidental explosions and risks of bodily harm were part and parcel of a normal training regimen.

' _Then again, perhaps for her it is…'_ She inwardly bemoaned, remembering her Liege's training in regards to magic and how best to use it. After all, a few random explosions probably wouldn't be found out of place inside the crazy training regimen Taylor willingly imposed unto herself, both physical and magical.

Thinking about it, Anit found herself going back to an idea that had been pestering her for some time now, and noticing that both Taylor and Doni were still talking about chants and how to better integrate them into battle, she decided she had the time to ponder it a little further.

It was a niggling feeling that had been hounding her thoughts for some time now, but hadn't truly taken form until the fight against Doni yesterday. Though it had bothered her ever since Taylor had used one of her Authorities to grant her hyper-enhanced learning.

At first she hadn't noticed it, having been blindsided by the sheer implausibility of said Authority and the fact that the Heretic-god her Liege had first slain had another completely separate dominion, but the doubt firmly nested itself in her mind, and blossomed as Taylor used another Authority to take them to the gorge where she planned to battle her fellow Campione.

It was a single impossible fact, something that simply shouldn't be possible. But Anit knew she could not deny what she had seen and heard, and so, despite how impossible the very idea was, she had to concede that it was the truth, no matter how ludicrous it sounded.

The chant Taylor had used to activate the teleportation Authority she had used to take them to the gorge, was the very same chant she had used to activate the knowledge Authority she had gifted Anit with, and was also the _very same_ chant she had used to empower the Egyptian mage with superhuman strength and toughness a few days before.

It was utterly ludicrous, but she couldn't deny the facts all but staring her in the face, that all completely different effects had to be caused by the very same Authority.

Oh, she knew of both Spells and Authorities that took various different forms, King Kusanagi's Ten Incarnations Authority he had acquired by defeating Verethragna was a perfect example of such. But in such situations there were always wildly different arias and chants necessary to activate each distinct aspect of the power, something Taylor's Authority clearly lacked.

' _From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need, invest me with thy might, empower me with thy graces, for I am the agent of thy will!'_ She thought the now familiar aria, searching for clues to what kind of god the words were referring to.

It had to be a creation god; the line talking about fragments of creation clearly indicated that. But unlike Khepri, it had to be a major god of creation in order to gift Taylor with dominion over ice, strength and knowledge, and she was sure that those dominions were only the tip of the iceberg. Especially as she suspected that the strange scream that had nullified the Italian Campione's Divine Confusion had been activated by the very same aria.

Adaptation, growth, rising to meet and overcome any obstacle, those were the focal points she had been able to identify, right alongside with the golden coloration of Taylor's avatar form.

Huffing in aggravation Anit followed the two Devil-kings into the airport. Her mind awhirl with possibilities as she considered the conundrum that was her Liege, and exactly what Heretic God she could have slain to obtain such an implausible Authority.

Of course, Taylor's earlier words about it being a parasitic, multi-dimensional, space whale were completely ignored. For even considering it would be completely ridiculous after all.

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

This chapter ended up being way shorter than I initially planned, but real life had others plans I'm afraid. The past month has been basically one problem after another, barely giving me any time to write. Truth be told, once or twice I seriously thought that I would be unable to finish this chapter before the month had passed.

So in the end I decided to at least post what I had already finished, instead of leaving you all hanging. Hopefully things will calm down soon and allow me to do better.

Regarding Princess Alice part in the chapter. No, Taylor is not a Seer, or at least, she isn't one without an active Thinker Shard giving her some form of precognition. Alice's assumption is a mix of the fact Pandora's guidance taking her towards Leviathan and her stumbling upon Khepri's descent making people believe her to be one, added to the fact that her suddenly being dropped on the Campione-verse, when she hadn't existed there before, completely changed the future, making Alice assume that she is a Seer whose power was boosted by becoming a Campione and is messing with her own visions.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	14. Chapter 14 - and Conspiracy Theorists

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, I'm alive!

Jokes aside, I'm terribly sorry for the long delay between this and the last chapter. Regrettably things have been incredibly hectic in my life these past few months, both at work and at my personal life, leaving me barely any free time, much less time to write properly.

At first I tried to write these in fragments whenever I could steal a moment, but the end result was incredibly disjointed and hardly worth being called a proper chapter. So in the end I had to wait for things to start calming down before I could start working on this properly. Thankfully things are now beginning to look up and settle down, so I was able to dedicate some time to my stories.

So I'd like to thank you all for your patience and understanding and I hope you like the chapter.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

… **and Conspiracy Theorists**

Watching out of the window of her hotel room Taylor gazed at this world's slowly rising sun. Watching as its golden light filled up the world, heralding the dawn of a new day. And as she watched the darkness of another barely slept night being swept aside by the brilliant light of the sun she wondered if there was any kind of deeper meaning in the fact that the first Heretic God she had slain in this world had been Khepri, a god of rebirth of all things.

She pondered such a thought for a moment longer, before with small snort of amusement dismissing the idea altogether as irrelevant.

Things rarely made sense after all. There was rarely a deeper meaning for why things happen the way they happen. They simply do. All one could realistically do is to accept it, gather one's wits and resolve, and endure.

She may have left Earth-Bet behind to this new world. A world where her past history was a complete unknown to all but herself, in what many could rightfully call a true rebirth. But that didn't mean the weight of her actions didn't remain, even if only deep within her own mind.

So it was hardly surprising that having a peaceful night sleep was slowly turning to be a rare treat, one that sadly had eluded her this night. It was hardly surprising, after all she knew she didn't have issues, oh no. She had whole freaking subscriptions.

Sending a quick gaze to her portable supercomputer Taylor entertained the idea of going back to work on one of her new projects for a moment before dismissing it, her mind instead returning to her meeting with the King of Swords.

He was a reckless idiot without an ounce of common sense, but part of her couldn't help but envy his completely carefree and unworried way of living. The fact he knew his place in the world and was perfectly fine with it.

And that was the whole point. The question that had kept her awake these last few hours, the question of what was she to do with this new life?

Quite frankly she hadn't expected to survive the final confrontation against Scion, hadn't given even a second thought to its mere possibility since her sacrifice had been an integral part of the whole plan. That is, until a meddlesome Thinker decided to change it all at the last possible moment without so much as a 'by your leave'.

Gently massaging her brow with her right hand, the fact she had lost said freaking arm in the final battle just proving the point of how out of her depth she truly was, she pondered what to do now.

Oh, sure, she had been acting to create a power base in this new world, had been slowly mastering her new abilities and taking hold of the situation she was now in. But that was more a conditioned response than anything else. But now that she herself was one of the true powers in the world the question was, what to do?

Was she to be a hero again, to right out wrongs and battle evil? She had taken that path once and seen where it lead, the dark unforgiving road that anyone who dared to carry the burden of a true hero had to tread. She had accepted it without hesitation or doubt and paid the ultimate price in the end.

And yet, despite having chosen death she had been granted life.

Sharply shaking her head she drove such bothersome thoughts away. For while she may not know quite a few things about her new situation or what her future may hold, one thing was painfully clear. She had to be here for a reason.

She knew she had not arrived in this universe by mistake, for Contessa simply did not do those.

In one hand Taylor felt that she understood at least marginally why the Thinker would feel compelled to allow her to survive, to spare her and send Taylor to a new world where she could live even an imitation of a normal life. For in truth, Contessa might have been the only one who could really say she understood what Taylor had been going through, to truly understand the price of sacrificing it all for an impossible goal, no matter the cost.

In many ways what she had been slowly turning into as she embraced the Queen Administrator Shard was a twisted mirror image of what Contessa had done to herself during the course of many years, a hollow girl who had let go of it all in order to save the world and was left nothing but a broken husk in return.

But that couldn't explain why she would chose a universe that would not only allow Taylor to survive her wounds and the removal of her Master powers, but that in doing so would actually allow her to wield more power than any Parahuman had ever wielded before.

Giving the rising sun one last look, Taylor shook off such thoughts away from her mind before turning around in order to prepare herself for the day.

Regardless of the reason or the plans the conniving woman could be holding, no matter what her own future had waiting for her or whatever pitfalls and dangers lurked beyond her sight and knowledge. Taylor knew one thing would remain true no matter what.

She would endure, adapt, and overcome.

 **\V/**

Walking behind her liege as they returned from another training session in the countryside, Anit kept trying to gather her courage and steel herself to do what she felt she had to do.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. She didn't _have_ to do it after all, oh no. She just felt that she would slowly go insane if she didn't do it. That was all.

The question that had been plaguing her thoughts ever since the 'spar' with Lord Salvatore simply refused to leave her alone. That her Liege's original Authority true power was literally an abnormality and the simple fact that after quite some time discreetly researching the subject there was only one god that would fit it's apparently all encompassing creation properties and her golden avatar.

Only for said divine being to be something no one had ever seen materialize in the human realm before. Ever.

Oh, sure, his servants had been noted to make appearances dozens of times before, so there was no doubt about his existence. But considering that even the weakest of said servants tended to have enough power to be classified as mid level Heretic Gods themselves upon their descent to the mortal realm, then it was widely believed that him ever turning Heretic would be a near apocalyptic situation at best.

Which brought forth even more uncomfortable questions, like: How exactly had no one noticed such a monumental event? Or how had Taylor even survived said event, much less emerged victorious from it in the first place? Or even how the world was still standing after it happened?

It was an impossibility, one that, if true, brought forth more questions than answers.

Questions that, sadly, could only be answered by one person. And the fact that said person seemed to take quite some pleasure in giving nonsensical answers when questioned about things wasn't really helping.

But she simply had no other choice, she had to know.

And so, as they entered her King's abode, and after wasting a moment to make sure the privacy wards she had erected earlier were still in effect, she prepared herself for the daunting task that loomed right in front of her.

Getting a straight answer out of Taylor.

"Anit, seriously, you have been acting like you are ready for something to jump at you out of nowhere since early this morning." The exasperated words of her King suddenly came from her side, cutting off her musings. "So spit it out already, what's the problem?"

Blinking owlishly at Taylor's slightly unamused face, Anit took a couple of moments to properly process what she had said, before realizing with a sheepish smile that she had been even more distracted than she at first thought if Taylor decided to confront her about it.

Looking at the Eighth Campione steely gaze she felt her determination waver for a moment before she gathered her resolve and decided to simply take the plunge and get this over with.

"Taylor, the first Heretic God that you had slain, the one that turned you into a Campione." She started out slowly, only for Taylor to make a get on with it gesture prompting her to continue. "Well, did you... Did you kill the Biblical God by any chance?"

YAHWHE. The supreme divine being of the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the great creator, now far more commonly known as simply God by most of humanity, the single most well known divine entity in the entire world.

It was an utterly ludicrous idea, that Taylor had slain what was probably the strongest divine being to ever exist as a mere mortal. But at the same time it was the only god that even remotely fit the situation and possible explanation Anit could see for the ridiculous fact that Taylor's first Authority seemed to be whatever she wanted it to be at the moment.

Waiting with baited breath the Egyptian mage waited for her liege's reply, both anticipating and fearing her answer in equal measures.

"Nah, not really." Taylor replied after a moment in a nonchalant manner with a huff of amusement while giving the Egyptian mage an odd look. Her words starting to ease Anit's unease a little. Sadly the mage's respite was short lived as the Campione continued to speak, causing her loyal minion to simply stop and stare as if she couldn't quite believe her ears.

"Or well, at least I don't think so. Not unless those crazy conspiracy theories about God being some kind of alien are actually true that is." She added on with a slightly thoughtful look, before simply shrugging the idea away as inconsequential.

Blinking owlishly at the calm and nonchalant expression present on the Eighth Campione's face, Anit had to force down a very real urge to try and throttle her extremely powerful and combat capable master.

' _Is it too much to ask her to answer at least one question seriously?!'_ She inwardly bemoaned, more than a little bit upset about the question she had spent so much time gathering the courage to ask being brushed aside in such a way.

Thankfully for her continued well being a sudden presence appearing within the perimeter wards she habitually set around Taylor's current abode distracted her from her ill advised current train of thought.

"Taylor, you may have a visitor." She quickly informed her King, her annoyance at said King's trollish ways being swept aside for the moment.

"Who is it?" Was Taylor's immediate reply, a glint of steel in her eyes as she repositioned herself on the couch in a way that would allow her to spring into motion at a moment's notice.

"I'm not sure, whoever it is, is extremely skilled and is masking his' or hers' mana presence."

And that was an understatement, for whoever it was had bypassed her outer wards masterfully, letting not even a trace of their presence leak out and evading her barriers without harming them in the slightest. Point in fact she was quite sure that if not for the fact that the intruder seemed to have purposefully allowed her to sense him that he would have managed to walk up to the door and knocked before Anit had noticed his presence.

And considering the fact she had already been one of the best ward makers on the continent before the massive boost in skill Taylor's crazy Authority had given her, that was saying something.

"Aggressive?" The Devil-king sitting on the couch enquired in a flat tone of voice, eyes following Anit's gaze towards the door.

"I don't think so. Whoever it is has actually allowed himself to sensed before reaching us, I don't think someone would do that should they be planning an immediate attack."

Making a small hum in agreement as she quietly whispered something under her breath, Taylor kept looking at the door. A few moments later the sound of polite knocking resounded through the room.

Moving towards the door after receiving an affirmative nod from her liege, Anit unlocked it and started pull it open, the words of a spell ready to spring out her lips should it be necessary.

Only for said words to die on her lips as she stared in astonishment at who exactly it was that was on the other side of the door.

Watching as the refined looking old man, with his simple but tasteful suit and perfectly combed white hair placidly looked at her from the other side of wooden barrier Anit felt two very distinct trains of thought vying for supremacy within her mind.

The first was wondering what by all the gods was Lord Harakty, the supreme leader of the Council of the Sands, doing standing outside Taylor's room unannounced and without any of the myriad of bootlickers that usually followed him around everywhere. Or why he had felt the need to apparently sneak up here in the first place.

The other was jadedly questioning the fact that she really wasn't feeling anywhere near as surprised as she would have felt but a few weeks ago upon suddenly finding herself right in front of one of the most powerful and important mages in Egypt without any prior warning.

"Lord, Harakty, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?" Anit calmly asked as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, the more jaded and slightly bemused side of her mind temporarily winning the contest.

"Miss Anit, first allow me to apologize for my unannounced visit, and that, should your Lady allow it, that I would seek an audience with her." The Head of the Council properly spoke while giving her a small bow.

Quickly looking towards Taylor's placidly looking form and receiving a small nod in answer Anit stood aside and allowed the elderly mage to enter, all the while wondering exactly when it was that the absurd and the ludicrous had apparently become her new normal.

 **\V/**

Centering herself as the effects of her Eternity's Sight took hold and assured her that their unannounced visitor was both alone and had no nasty surprises on his person, Taylor nodded towards Anit for her to open up the door, her mind already analyzing exactly why the leader of the Council would want an off the records meeting with her.

And that this was an off the records meeting was something she didn't have a shadow of a doubt. Her Authority showing that the only agent in place was a watcher three blocks away that was so thoroughly bored with his task that he was spending more time playing with his cell phone than watching the hotel where she was staying.

There was simply no way a big shot like the leader of the Council would be appearing in such a nondescript manner here if not for him wanting to make some kind of under the table deal with her.

' _Politics.'_ She inwardly all but spat out the word as the white haired old man entered the room, all but turning the word into a curse. For if there was something that Taylor could say she truly loathed, it was politics.

And regrettably, it seemed to be a truly pervasive and all encompassing evil. For no matter where you looked, there would always be someone jostling for power, money or influence. Being more concerned with appearances and reputations than in doing what needed to be done.

Hell, she was now living in a completely different dimension and politics still remained the same! Down to the fact that some haughty idiot in the Council was trying to discreetly form some kind of power block to try and direct her movements and control her. Not that she was overly worried about it. Right now the idiot's actions were merely suspicious and weren't actively interfering or threatening her own person or Anit, and as such she would simply keep an eye on things and give him enough rope to hang himself with when the time was right.

But nonetheless, was it too much to ask for competent politicians who were actually interested in the well being of their people and in doing their freaking jobs for a change instead of looking almost exclusively to cover their own backsides and profit?!

' _Maybe they are an universal constant?'_ The depressing thought drifted through her mind for a moment before she forcefully pushed it away, focusing instead at her surprise guest.

The fact that Harakty looked like an old and wrinkled grandfather didn't make her lower her guard in the slightest, much on the contrary. For from what she had learnt in the past few weeks, she now knew that the hidden world of magic on this earth was in many ways just as cutthroat as the world of Capes back on her home dimension.

And as an old saying from back home succinctly put, you should always beware old Capes. For there was a reason they were old.

"Lady Taylor, first allow me to offer my sincerest apologies for my sudden intrusion upon your abode." He calmly spoke while giving her a deferential bow. "But I felt that it was necessary to have this meeting sooner rather than later."

"Is that so?" She noncommittally replied, dragging all information she had about Harakty to the front of her mind. All the while blinking in slight surprise that the mage seemed to be actually speaking the truth, both her Eternity's Sight and the cold reading skills her Uber-shard had granted her pointing towards that conclusion.

A feeling of surprise that was magnified into interest as she watched the self-assured and grandiose façade the older mage had been carrying around with the natural ease of born nobility be thrown aside as if nothing but a change of clothing. Shed aside as if some bothersome formal uniform one was forced to use for work and gladly took off the moment they got home.

"Indeed." He calmly replied, a wry smile on his face. The pompous and self important man she had seen sitting with his fellow council members nowhere to be seen. "Now, if you would forgive my forwardness, I believe we both would greatly appreciate if I dropped all the formal act, the over presumptuous fake politeness, and went straight to the point, if Milady wouldn't mind of course?"

Noting once more that he had spoken nothing but the truth, Taylor found herself fighting back a wry smile of her own due to the fact this was shaping up way better than she had dared to hope. Giving a small nod in agreement she waited to hear what exactly he wanted to propose.

"Very well, then to make things perfectly clear. I have kept this country stable and prospering for over fifty years, despite quite a few of my coworkers best attempts at disrupting my efforts through their greed, shortsightedness, sheer idiocy, or, regrettably more often than not, an unholy mixture of all three." He stated without preamble, his desert dry tone of voice and the downright appalled look on Anit's face almost forcing a snort to escape Taylor's lips. "The fact that those idiots tend to have quite short life spans thankfully tends to help, leaving only the more competent and slightly more sane members around in the long term."

"But sadly my usual wait and see approach as I let Darwin take his toll on the gene pool simply is not attainable at our current situation. Not when one of my idiotic compatriots seems determined to commit suicide and drag half the country along with him." He angrily stated, his words making Taylor immediately think about a certain delusional mage with a tinge of understanding. She too knew the problems an idiotic or arrogant teammate could cause, both on purpose and on accident.

"I am aware of Zaliki's current actions. I hold no blame towards you or your other followers for his and his allies' aims." She decided to interject, the novelty of the fact the old mage had yet to lie to her even once making her decide to throw him a bone so to speak, even if both of them could easily hear the unspoken 'for now' at the end of her statement.

"I expected as much. But nonetheless you have my thanks." Harakty answered while bowing his head, a hard glint firm on his eyes. "And yet the fact remains, to allow the situation to continue until its inevitable outcome is nothing but madness."

"Devil-kings. All of your kind are known to be maniacs and lunatics. But at the very least you appear to be competent and capable, and far more importantly, you seem to care for the lives of our citizens." He bluntly spoke, eyeing her straight in the eyes. "So perhaps I will not come to regret this decision."

And then, under the Eighth Campione's bemused gaze, Lord Harakty took a knee and clasped his hands before his chest. Steely eyes never straying from Taylor's gaze.

"As long as you protect this country against threats that we cannot defend ourselves against, like Heretic Gods and other Devil-kings, then this I mostly solemnly swear: You shall have my full support and that of those under my rule. So have I spoken, so mote it be."

' _A competent politician. Who would've thought?'_ A part of Taylor's mind couldn't help but comment. The fact she knew he meant every word he had just said giving the whole thing quite the surreal feeling to the young God-slayer.

"Very well, as long as you do not hurt me and mine I accept your pledge." She answered, slightly uncertain if agreeing and truly linking herself with Egypt's mage association was a good idea, but reasoning that she wasn't really promising to do anything she wouldn't be doing anyway in case of an emergency.

And besides, a competent leader running any kind of organization was probably an anomaly she really wouldn't meet that often. So it was probably better to not let a good chance slip by.

"Understandable. The surveillance you are currently under will be slowly reduced in order to not alert certain parties to this new development, and while I sadly cannot truly act without due cause, not without alienating a significant portion of my powerbase that is, I will do all that I can to curtail Zaliki's stupidity. But while I cannot act overtly, you on the other hand…" The old man trailed off meaningfully, a dark smirk on his face.

And confirming once more that he hadn't uttered a single falsehood since entering the room, alongside the warrior's grin on his features and the complete lack of political bullshit being thrown her way, Taylor thought that she may not really mind working alongside this old mage.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Taylor replied in a way that implied that butter wouldn't melt on her mouth.

"Of course." He replied in an equally innocent sounding tone of voice as he rose to his feet. "All that I ask is that you warn me should that change. Meanwhile be assured that I shall keep you posted should anything change from my side of things."

"And remember, if you need anything that is within our power to aid you, you need but to ask and it shall be yours." He said as he started towards the exit, bypassing a baffled looking Anit. "If that's all, then I shall be taking my leave before my absence is noted. Farewell Milady.

Taylor watched Lord Harakty for a moment before a stray thought crossed her mind, and after swiftly considering it for a moment she decided to act upon it.

"Actually, there is something you may aid me with." She firmly stated, making Harakty pause near the door and turn towards her in order to give her his full attention.

"Does the Council posses any kind of Dragon Bones?" She asked of her new subordinate, a small fanged grin slowly surfacing on her features.

 **\V/**

 **Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards**  
You are currently logged in, Inconspicuous  
You are viewing:  
• Threads you have replied to  
• AND Threads that have new replies  
• OR private message conversations with new replies  
• Thread OP is displayed  
• Ten posts per page  
• Last ten messages in private message history  
• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.

 **Topic: Golden Morning  
In: Boards - ****News -** **Events -** **Global -** **Golden Morning**

 **Braggart** (Original Poster)(The Guy in The Know)  
Posted on July 7, 2013:

Okay, information is really scarce and hard to come by and no one really seems to know the whole picture, and the fact quite a few countries are actually gone really doesn't help, but we got to start somewhere. So here is what we do know:

•Jun 20, 2013: Without rhyme or reason, Scion, the world's greatest hero, apparently underwent a massive psychotic breakdown and started slaughtering everything in his path. Capes from around the world are gathered in an attempt to either stop or neutralize the world's former greatest hero's rampage.

•Jun 21, 2013: Despite various groups greatest efforts Scion's rampage remains unchecked. The death toll already surpasses the millions, a number that only grows even more daunting with each minute that passes.

•Jun 22, 2013: Scion's rampage extends to other Earths, ravaging parts of both Earth Aleph and a few others, up to this point still undiscovered, alternate Earths. Threads about said alternate realities, and how this whole mess will affect any kind of possible diplomatic talks with them, can be found here, here and here.

•Jun 23, 2013: Eidolon perishes against the Golden Man and the British Islands are for all intents and purposes gone from the map. The death count bypasses the billion mark.

•Jun 24, 2013: After nearly four days into Scion's rampage an unbelievable powerful Master comes into play, basically enslaving every single Parahuman she could find and creating an army of tens of thousands, amidst which where some serious heavy hitters like the Ash Beast, Lustrum and even Glaistig Uaine herself.

Her army ready she brought the fight to Scion, thousands died and whole countries were laid to waste, but in the end Scion breathed his last. The whole fiasco is being called the 'Golden Morning', see news threads here and here.

Afterwards the now identified Khepri basically disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a huge disorganized mob of extremely angry, confused and paranoid Parahumans who had just been Mastered and used to fight on what could rightfully be called the Ragnarok. Threads talking about the fallout of that particular cluster-fuck can be found here, here and here.

So to summarize: the Golden Idiot went bananas; the apocalypse nearly happened; billions died; Eidolon and thousands of other heroes died; a Master that makes Heartbreaker look like a two bit hack appeared, basically enslaved ALL Parahumans in sight, killed freaking Scion, and then she vanished without leaving a trace.

Confused, scared and worried?! So am I!

Edit: Despite how ludicrous it may sound, _confirmed sources_ show that the freaking **Endbringers** were seen fighting _alongside_ the cape army against Scion (Pics  here, here and here.)… What the actual fuck?!

Edit: What remains of the PRT have apparently named the unknown Master as Khepri, and immediately threw at her a S-rank threat label and a Kill Order. Unconfirmed sources say she is the former Protectorate Hero known as Weaver, see links here.

 **(Showing Page 245 of 246)**

 **Conceptualist** (Cape Groupie)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:  
So Weaver went full psycho warlord. How is anyone surprised about that? Or did everyone conveniently forget what she did under her former alias!

 **Momantai  
** Replied on July 17, 2013:

You go and conquer your hometown as a tyrannical overlord once during your rebellious years and people never let you forget it, do they? ;p

 **Skull-sama** (Verified Stunt Driver)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:

Guess it's a lesser of two evils situation, huh?

She did stop his rampage, but at what cost? And the methods used…

Yeah, it's a tough one alright.

 **Rainbowfly** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:

Fuck that crazy bitch! You think hearing about it is bad?! Try and be thrown into the meat grinder by the crazy psycho fighting the crazier mass murdering nut job!? [REST OF POST DELETED BY MODERATOR]

[User has received an infraction for this post]

 **G.A.D.** (Moderator) (Hobbyist Writer)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:  
Rainbowfly

While your reaction is somewhat understandable, the rules exist for a reason. Respect them.

 **Rainbowfly** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:

[POST HAS BEEN DELETED BY MODERATOR]

 **G.A.D.** (Moderator) (Hobbyist Writer)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:

*Sigh…* Try and cool down a little bit during your week long ban.

 **Ni  
** Replied on July 17, 2013:

I can't believe you guys are even discussing this! Scion just had to be stopped! No matter what! Or did any of you fail to notice that Great Britain is freaking gone!

And I mean gone as in the whole landmass was vaporized!

 **Conceptualist** (Cape Groupie)  
Replied on July 17, 2013:  
Ni

Tell that to all those who had their freewill stripped away and used as nothing more than pawns by another!

 **To Ponder  
** Replied on July 17, 2013:  
Ni

Really, there aren't scarier words than: For the greater good.

 **End of Page. …** **243** **,** **244** **,245,** **246** **.**

 **(Showing Page 246 of 246)**

 **H2O  
** Replied on July 18,2013:

Christ! Get on with the program people!

Yes, the crazy bug lady went even crazier and basically enslaved the world's Parahuman population (which makes for some very interesting points in regards to human intelligence in general, since her power was, if you all remember, to control bugs). Yes, that was utterly evil and diabolical! And yes, the Golden Idiot had to be stopped before humanity went down the drain! So stop repeating the same argument over and over again!

 **Muffin** (Unverified Elder One)  
Replied on July 18,2013:

The Queen of Bugs has taken down the Golden Whale. Truly an unexpected development.

 **Fluffy Dragon  
** Replied on July 18,2013:

Is it just me, or are ALL the crazies coming out to play?

 **Duster** (Verified Badass)  
Replied on July 18,2013:  
Fluffy Dragon

This is PHO. Why are you surprised about that?

 **Winged_One  
** Replied on July 18,2013:

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,  
But she with a chuckle replied  
That "maybe it couldn't," but she would be one  
Who wouldn't say so till she'd tried.  
So she buckled right in with the trace of a grin  
On her face. If she worried she hid it.  
She started to sing as she tackled the thing  
That couldn't be done, and she did it.

 **Boop!** (Not a Sloth)  
Replied on July 18,2013:

Glad to see you are back Winged! And with a new poem too!

And with the Endbringers down for the count we finally have proof! I told you guys again and again that she couldn't possibly be the Simurgh! That's crazy talk!

 **Braggart** (Original Poster)(The Guy in The Know)  
Replied on July 18,2013:  
Boop!

I don't want to rain down on your parade, but I haven't been able to find any evidence that Ziz did bite the dust... many of the other Endbringers, yes.

But her specifically? No such luck.

So, yeah…

 **Boop!** (Not a Sloth)  
Replied on July 18,2013:  
Braggart

… Seriously?

 **Winged_One**  
Replied on July 18,2013:  
Boop!

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,  
Life is but an empty dream!  
For the soul is dead that slumbers,  
And things are not what they seem.

 **Boop!** (Not a Sloth)  
Replied on July 18,2013:

… Oh, that's just _perfect_ …

 **End of Page. …** **243** **,** **244** **,** **245** **,246.**

 **Topic: Where is Khepri?  
In: Boards - ****News -** **Events -** **Global -** **Golden Morning**

So, just in case anyone has been living under a rock in the middle of nowhere and hasn't heard already, here is what we know so far.

The Hero formerly known as Weaver somehow proceeded to enslave basically all Parahumans on the planet, and in a few parallel dimensions too just for good measure, and proceeded to use her newly found army to battle a rampaging Scion.

And after defeating the Golden Man in a show of sheer Master prowess that makes Heartbreaker look like whining child she simply disappeared without a trace.

Meaning that the newly rebranded Villain Khepri, who has received the flattering power ranking of Master 12 from what is left of the government, someone who can apparently enslave thousands of people with a thought, is on the loose and completely unaccounted for.

Feel free to start screaming now.

 **(Showing Page 79 of 79)**

 **Eye_of_Truth** (Not a Sheikah)  
Replied on July 19,2013:

So from what we gathered, she can basically take over control of any Parahuman on a _miles_ long range all around her?

That's just _swell_ …

 **Crystal Guardian  
** Replied on July 19,2013:

I guess it's time to move out to my uncle's farm that's in the middle of nowhere until things calm down. Again.

 **Old Tongue  
** Replied on July 19,2013:

I don't know why you are all panicking! She obviously died of her wounds. I mean, just look at her! The last pic anyone got of her clearly shows that she is missing a freaking arm! Master 12 or not, there is no way she walked that off!

 **Mab Queen of Air and Darkness  
** Replied on July 19,2013:  
Old Tongue

While the minds of mere mortals would balk before the impossible odds, those who transcended such things know the truth.

The path of the Queen Administrator would not be ended so easily.

 **Winged_One**  
Replied on July 19,2013:

The way we use adversity  
is strictly our own choice,  
For in God's Hands adversity  
can make the heart rejoice.

 **xXVoid_CowboyXx  
** Replied on July 19,2013:

She was always kinda edgy even way back then. The kind of person you have to watch yourself with, you know? So knowing that she is loose like that is really worrying.

 **Inconspicuous  
** Replied on July 19,2013:

Is that so? I find it curious that this is coming from the [THE REST OF THE POST HAS BEEN DELETED BY MODERATOR]

[User has received an infraction for this post]

 **xXVoid_CowboyXx** (Temp-banned) **  
**Replied on July 19,2013:

[POST HAS BEEN DELETED BY MODERATOR]

[User has received an infraction for this post]

 **Glasses** (Cape Groupie) (Temp-banned)  
Replied on July 19,2013:

[POST HAS BEEN DELETED BY MODERATOR]

[User has received an infraction for this post]

 **G.A.D.** (Moderator) (Hobbyist Writer)  
Replied on July 19,2013:

This Thread is now locked for the next twenty four hours so that tempers can cool down a little. The rules exist for a reason people! Try and be civil!

 **End of Page. …** **77** **,** **78** **,79.**

 **\V/**

Groaning in irritation Lisa slumped down into her seat, hands pressed against her forehead while she inwardly berated herself for her lack of impulse control. Sure, putting that little idiotic upstart back in his place had been extremely therapeutic and the risk of someone tracking her down from one single anonymous post was incredibly small, but nonetheless she should have known better. Especially considering the fact that half the world seemed to be searching for her, including mother fucking Dragon.

The aftershocks of the Golden Morning were still reverberating throughout the world; everybody was confused, scared and trying to re-establish some kind of order while simultaneously trying to understand what the hell had happened.

Of course, the fact that the number of people who knew the whole picture and still held breath could be counted in one hand with fingers to spare wasn't really helping the various powers that be attempts at information gathering.

This in turn was making said powers get really antsy, since, apparently, the threat of a Master 12 being on the loose after everything else that had happened wasn't something that they were willing to let slide.

And unfortunately for Lisa, she was part of the extremely short list of those few who did know the whole story of what had happened.

She had yet to face a direct attempt against her. But that was simply due to the fact that she had kept her head low, never stayed put at one place for too long, and that her opponents were currently still reorganizing from surviving the near end of the world.

' _Had to leave this place soon anyway.'_ She justified to herself, knowing that her current safe house probably wouldn't remain _safe_ for much longer anyway. _'And he got it coming.'_

The justification felt hollow even to herself, but truth be told, she currently didn't care. She simply couldn't help herself when she saw what that ignoramus was spouting about Taylor despite the fact he had followed her around like a love-sick puppy for years while never doing anything even remotely helpful had really pushed her buttons. She simply couldn't allow that to stand, especially considering the fact that her utterly fool of a friend had all but exiled herself to another dimension on some twisted attempt to become a freaking martyr.

"Dammit ,Taylor! You had to go and be a freaking hero, didn't you?!" She cursed out loud, punching the keyboard while pondering if her friend was even still alive.

"You are quite passionate about this particular subject, aren't you?" A calm and collect voice politely asked from right behind her, startling her out of her current train of thought and stopping her incoming rant on its tracks before it could truly begin.

Jumping straight out of her chair Tattletale spun in place, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she drew her pistol to point at however it was that had found her hideout despite all her precautions, only to freeze in place upon laying eyes upon the owner of the voice.

Eyes wide she took in her unexpected guest, her mouth now desert dry as she took in the impeccably dressed woman that was placidly sitting at the bed in the corner, calmly playing with the fedora in her hands.

She was most definitely not someone Tattletale wanted to see inside her current place of residence. Point in fact she was someone Lisa didn't want to see even in the same zip code of her current place of residence, what with her being easily in the top ten list of people whom she most definitely did not want to see, ever, no matter the circumstances involved.

Oh, sure, Contessa wasn't exactly at the _top_ of said list. But considering that particular spot was occupied by the likes of The Sleeper, the Three Blasphemies, and the freaking Faerie Queen, that really wasn't saying much.

Feeling like a lead weight had been dropped down on her stomach Lisa forcibly attempted to keep her calm. The fact her _guest_ was apparently unarmed and under the gaze of her own gun doing extremely little to calm her nerves, for she knew how little that actually meant against Contessa should things develop into a fight. Her eyes darting all over the sharply dressed woman daintily sitting not even three meters away from her, Lisa felt her power start to gather every single scrap of information available, only for her to immediately rein it in. She knew that it would be no use and a Thinker headache would only decrease her already almost nonexistent chances of escape even further.

Sure, her power easily allowed her to read the most minuscule of micro expressions, to unravel the smallest thread of information and enhance the smallest of clues in order to give her the whole picture in a matter of moments. Allowing her to cold-read others to such a degree that most truly believed her wild claims of being psychic.

But she knew far too well that that would do her no good here, not against this particular opponent. For she knew that whatever her powers would perceive, would be exactly what Contessa's own powers wanted her to perceive in the first place, all in order to lead her right into the other Thinker's 'Path'. Everything she could actually gleam from the other woman and all her thoughts regarding it, down to the fact she was actually doubting the information her power was currently feeding her, having already been predicted in order to guide her reactions towards the desired outcome.

All placed into an eternal cycle of knowing that the other woman was influencing her perception, but that fighting back said influence was in fact falling victim to the very same influence she was supposedly fighting, but that failing to fight it back had already been predicted and could actually be the response the other desired all along, which would mean she should actually fight it back, but knowing that said action opened up the quite real possibility that that particular reaction was actually her true end goal, which in turn would mean…

Shaking her head and forcibly stopping herself Lisa focused at the woman in front of her, bringing her train of thought to a forceful halt. That kind of circular logic was far too easy to get caught on and would do her no good against her current opponent. After all, the only way to win against Contessa, was to simply refuse to play altogether, which sadly wasn't really an option for her at the moment.

Meaning that in the end her only option was to actually listen to the insufferable Thinker nonchalantly sitting at her bed, no matter how little she wanted to do so.

"Now that we have reached an understanding, tell me Miss Wilbourn." Contessa said with a small serene smile upon her features, as if in answer to the younger Thinker's internal rant, her tone of voice calm and uncompromising. "What are your plans for the future? Knowing what you know regarding the truth to one of our species darkest moments, what do you intend to do from now on?"

Swallowing hard Lisa forcibly stopped herself from overreacting to the other woman deceptively nonchalant words, knowing far too well that she knew far too much for her own good. That she held within her mind more than enough damming information in regards to far too many people, people she knew would love to see 'loose ends' just like herself dealt with, permanently.

And the fact she knew far too well that the harmless looking woman in front of her was one of those very same people who would kill to keep what she knew secret, and that she had decades of experience tying up said 'loose ends', really wasn't helping her nerves.

"While your reasoning is sound, I must admit this is not the reason for my visit, or at least not at this point in time." Contessa placidly stated, once again answering Lisa's inner musings, all the while calmly playing with her fedora. "So you may relax Miss Wilbourn, I'm not here to end you, this day."

"What do you want, Contessa?" Lisa grudgingly asked, seeing how remaining silent wasn't really doing anything in bettering her current situation while also doing her level best to ignore the subtext hidden in the last two words spoken.

"To present to you an offer, Miss Wilbourn, no more and no less." She calmly stated, looking Lisa in the eyes. "To continue as you are now; or to take on a fresh start somewhere new."

The amount of subtext and hidden information contained within that small sentence nearly threw the blonde Thinker for a loop. And before she could even begin to process it all Contessa had already rose to her feet and was calmly walking towards the farther wall.

"I trust that you will make the right choice." She continued in the same bland tone of voice, not even glancing towards Lisa, or even twitching as two glowing silver ovals appeared side by side upon the wall.

"Farewell, Miss Wilbourn." She said as she stepped through one of the glowing portals. "And do give _her_ my regards."

Watching the spot where the portal had just closed for a long moment as her mind took in her newest near death experience, Lisa used all her considered willpower to keep herself from bolting while cursing with all her might.

Once she had recollected her wits she moved her gaze towards the still glowing portal that had remained. Warily watching it as if it could sprout fangs and pounce at her at a moment's notice.

Swiftly going through her depressingly small list of options she pondered what to do. A considerable part of her being was telling her in no uncertain terms to ignore the obvious trap Contessa's offer had to be, run away, and never look back.

And yet she knew she simply could not do so. That accursed Thinker's parting words still resounding through her mind.

And do give _her_ my regards.

Just six little words forming such an, apparently, innocuous phrase. If not for the fact that there was only one person whom Contessa could possibly be talking about.

An idiotic martyr, who had disappeared after entering another glowing portal.

"Oh, for fucks sake." She spat out after another long moment, jumping out of her chair and grabbing the ready-made getaway backpack that she kept laying next to the computer monitor and heading towards the ominously glowing rip in time and space on her wall.

After all, if she had to eat poison, she may as well eat the plate too.

 **\V/**

Jumping off a taxi and rushing after her Liege as they speed through the busy streets of Cairo, Anit wondered exactly what was happening. While part of her mind unhelpfully reminded her that she had been wondering that a lot recently.

She had no idea why Taylor had all but bolted out of her hotel room after apparently receiving an email, an incredulous look on her face and a odd glint on her eyes. But the fact that the Eighth Campione was visibly nervous when she had faced down Heretic Gods and brokered shadowy deals with important political figures without a hint of hesitation made the Egyptian mage feel most definitely uncomfortable.

Not to mention that the fact that her attempts to get a clear answer out of Taylor kept getting derailed by outside influences really wasn't helping her mood.

She had envisioned many things when she had rushed after her conflicted looking Liege, most of them of the catastrophic category. But she most definitely hadn't expected their mad dash to stop in front of a small café on a side street.

Following Taylor's gaze, she saw that the Devil-king was intently staring at a blonde young woman, no older than her early twenties, that had just placed down a large mug of coffee next to a portable laptop.

"Hey Taylor, how've you been? I see you have been going up in life, congratulations!" The freckled blonde cheerfully exclaimed, a large grin firm on her features as she rose from her seat.

But instead of answering Taylor simply stood there and stared, until with a blur of motion she all but tackled the blonde, enveloping her with a bone breaking hug.

"Lisa, just, how?" She questioned as they embraced, a small genuine smile on her lips.

"You can blame our scary little mad hatter for that." She unhelpfully replied, though Taylor at least seemed to understand what she meant.

They traded a long sincere smile, all but basking on each other's presence. Until Lisa broke the moment as her smile turned down into a frown.

"… Seriously! Taylor what the hell?!" She harshly questioned out of nowhere, and weirdly enough Taylor's reaction to the unexpected outburst was to cringe back slightly as if she was the one in the wrong and not the blonde woman that had all but shouted for no reason.

"You let freaking Contessa shot you in the head?! Twice! What the hell were you thinking?!" Lisa harshly questioned, Anit simply owlish blinking as she tried to decipher what the phrase meant, since Taylor's completely intact brain box clearly showed that whatever the blonde meant by it, it couldn't be literal.

"I got better!" Taylor blurted out, the sheepish expression and slight blush she briefly sported afterwards showing she had said the first thing that had popped up in her mind without thinking, and gaining an incredulous look from the blonde woman for her efforts.

"And now we are dropping to Python's level. All your arguments are henceforth completely invalid." Lisa seriously stated with a nod of her head, a mischievous glint entering her eyes. "I really don't know how you managed to function after being stranded here by yourself, much less stay in one piece. I guess I got your new companion to thank for that."

"You make it sound like I need a minder all the time." The Eighth Campione huffed in slight irritation, but despite her tone, there was a hint of amusement on her features.

"That's because that's exactly what I mean." She immediately shot back, giving Taylor a mischievous grin before turning towards Anit and started talking.

"So you're the latest stray she took in. Yeah, she does that. I know, it can get a little overbearing at times. It's kind of my fault she started it really, what with me being the one to pull that over with her first to begin with, though the rest is all her fault."

"You are very loyal towards Taylor and determined to help her, aren't you? A nice head upon your shoulders if I may say so too, not to mention quite a nice skill set you have there." She continued, the way she was invading Anit's personal space and the smirk she was sporting making her uncomfortable and slightly worried about this strange woman's possible interests on her Liege.

"Oh, quite competent too, already trying to plan how to remove me should I be a threat!" The blonde woman glibly chirped in, gaining a startled look from the olive skinned woman, only for her to grab her arm and continue on cheerfully. "No, no, no, don't be sorry! That was neither a reprimand nor a censure, quite the opposite really! Heavens knows someone has to look over her well being, especially since she is personally incapable of doing so!"

"I'm not that bad, Lisa!" Taylor huffed in slight annoyance, gaining nothing but a loaded look and smirk from the blonde chatterbox that was holding Anit's arm hostage.

"Blonde chatterbox, that's got to be one of the most flattering nicknames I've received in years!" She commented with a small laugh, the fact the Egyptian mage _knew_ she hadn't said that out loud ringing several warning bells in her mind. "Ah, don't be like that, we are all friends here after all! Fellow minions working under our scarily efficient Overlady! "

"Lisa you may want to slow down a bit, you are overwhelming my minion." Taylor half joked, gaining a pout from the blonde woman alongside Anit arm's freedom.

"Fine, fine, ruin all my fun." Lisa mock complained, giving Taylor a blinding smile for a moment before turning and staring the confused and bewildered olive skinned woman straight in the eyes.

"And yes, I can read your mind." The freckled blonde happily chirped while giving, a now also slightly unnerved, Anit a very large, fox-like grin.

 **\V/**

 **Omake: Mission Escalation**

In a dim lit room, deep within the mazelike web of underground corridors that made up the headquarters of his agency, groaning in sheer aggravation at his current situation, agent Coulson tiredly rubbed his brow as he tiredly worked on trying to resolve the problem that he had stumbled upon.

He had been analyzing a series of slightly conflicting and unusual reports in regards to the current situation on the African continent northeast regions, only to uncover something that didn't seem quite right.

Regrettably said discovery happened well over past two in the morning, meaning that there was no one else left in the office to help him deal with it and forcing him to endure quite a few hours of digging for more information and analyzing what data he had all by himself into the wee hours.

But he had soldiered on, despite his aggravation and tiredness, and uncovering that the situation was far more dire than initially reported and that immediate intervention was necessary. And while it wasn't exactly a true global threat, at least not yet, that it _was_ extremely time sensitive, and that leaving it unattended any longer than absolutely necessary could end up spawning some quite complicated situations in the long term.

Which in turn lead to his current problem.

He theoretically had the capability and authority necessary for issuing such a mission himself, and considering all the data he had uncovered he sincerely doubted his bosses would make any kind of trouble from him doing so. But that left the problem that the few field agents he knew about were either currently busy or too far away to get to the region in time, which in turn forced him to try and uncover the files of another field agent currently active near the area in question in order to assign the mission to.

Only for him to stumble upon the annoying fact that any field agent worth their codenames had the truly irritating habit of regularly and thoroughly erasing as much information about themselves as possible, making even locating an agent not in direct active duty one hell of a chore.

He could wait until the workday started properly in a few more hours and ask his direct superior for help, but that would waste time that could be of the essence. Which in turn was forcing him to plough through the databases by himself, trying to find the annoyingly well hidden files that would contain the information that he needed to contact one of said agents.

Thankfully, he had learned one very important fact during his years of service. No matter how much information they erased or hid away, no one in their right mind refused to receive a government pay check. So all he had to do was to follow the extremely convoluted money trail starting from the Pentagon to find his targets.

With a sigh of relief he took in the information that had just appeared on his screen.

As expected the amount of information available about the agent was stupidly small and extremely vague, but the important bits were that she was currently on the government paycheck, and therefore on active duty, and that according to the money trail she was currently on Egypt.

Quickly typing the necessary orders he sent the mission request to be delivered to her. But even as he wrote them and imputed the necessary passwords, he couldn't help but wonder about the few bits he _could_ read about his chosen agent, more specifically, her codename.

A field agent codename was often bestowed to them by their direct superior, the one who had recruited and trained them, and more often than not had a far deeper meaning to them than most would expect.

And even though he knew he probably would never find out the specifics about it, agent Coulson couldn't help but wonder about how this operative had managed to get such a unique codename, knowing that it was probably quite the tale.

After all, it wasn't every day an agent got saddled up with the definition of how an insect walked as their codename.

 **\V/**

Entering with Lisa and Anit into the sitting room of her current residence, a small smile on her face as her old friend and her loyal minion argued and quibbled as if they had known each other for years, Taylor felt that things were finally going her way for a change.

Only for her smile to immediately disappear from her face upon noticing the small, innocuous looking laptop resting upon the central table of the room. A laptop that hadn't been there before they had left the room and that she was certain didn't belong to either of her companions.

"Lisa." She simply stated, the Thinker gathering all that she needed to know from her tone of voice alone as Taylor called out her name, before turning towards the Egyptian mage in order to give Anit her own orders. "Anit, seal the room."

Watching as her minion erected a secrecy ward around the room from the corner of her eyes, she stared as Lisa approached the object with a fascinated look. Waiting for the Thinker to gather all the information she could from the unexpected object.

She was waiting for either a detailed report in regards to it or a warning about a possible threat, so it was with a befuddled look on her face that she took in her old friend's form as Lisa simply clutched her own stomach and started to laugh uproariously.

"Lisa, what is it?" She demanded, only for the blonde to simply gesture towards the object as she continued to laugh.

Giving her friend one last confused and slightly annoyed look Taylor moved towards the laptop, cautiously touching it with her left hand and nearly jumping backwards as it unfurled by itself and started to play what looked like a recording.

"Agent Skitter, your mission, should you choose to accept it…"

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

Just getting ahead of the questions I'll indubitably get, Lisa is the only one from Taylor's friends that I plan to bring to the Campione-verse. Both because I love her character and that it's believable plot wise that Contessa wouldn't want to leave any loose ends hanging, and Lisa simply knows far too much, so her deciding to dump her in another dimension is believable to me.

In another note, I hope you all liked the mini PHO Interlude in the middle of the chapter. After all, as we all know, any true Worm story needs a PHO interlude. ;p

Sadly it will be the only one that will happen in the story (at least that I have planned for), there being no real way for me to allow another one to happen in a believable manner with the current plot.

As for the Omake, I got the idea for it while reading a few reviews talking how it would be hilarious if the USA government were to stumble upon Taylor's 'pay-check', thought she was an actual government agent, and sent her an actual mission.

If you guys like it I may continue with a series of Mission Impossible style Skitter Omakes, so let me know what you all think.

For those of you who also follow my other story, Devil Arts Online. I'm working on the next chapter, got around two thousand words ready point in fact, so rest at ease, the next update is coming, though I won't give any time predictions, because I seem to be horrible with those, or with any kind of prediction actually, what with how I initially thought this chapter would be around four to five thousand words long and ended up with an over ten thousand words behemoth.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


	15. Chapter 15 - Opening Moves

**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, regarding the reviews asking about future PHO instances. While it would _'technically'_ be possible for there to be future PHO interludes, doing so would demand that Taylor use several Thinker and Tinker Shards to both find her home reality and build a Tinker-device to allow her to access the site. And frankly I cannot see Taylor spending both the time and resources necessary for such an undertaking with the only purpose of trolling people, not without her acting OOC.

So while I personally love a good PHO interlude, I'm sad to say that there won't be more of them in this story for quite some time. Sorry.

Thirdly, due to huge popular demand I decided to continue with the 'Agent Skitter' idea I had last chapter. But now comes the big question: Would you all want me to keep it as a series of pure Omakes or as a Canon compliant Side Story?

Both have their positive sides. As an Omake, whatever happens in it wouldn't be 'Canon' to the main story, and as such would allow for a greater degree of freedom, and absurdity, like for instance making her actually take missions on the Avenger's universe and such. In the other hand, as a Side Story Agent Skitter would be Canon to the main story, and while that would curtail a few of the more wild options, it would allow for Taylor's character to develop her 'agent' side and allow for some fun and trolling in the main story down the line, not to mention feeding the rumor mill in regards to Taylor's past.

I like both possibilities, and so I'll let you all decide which way to go. There is a Poll in my profile for this decision, so go there and cast your vote for your favorite option. It will remain open until the next update.

Lastly: **I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".**

 **\V/**

 **Opening Moves**

Sitting in front of a large computer screen in the wee hours of the morning, the glow of the machine's screen the only source of light inside her hotel room, Lisa grabbed the cup of coffee by her side without even glancing at it before promptly downing it in a single go. Grimacing at the taste of the now cold coffee even as it did its magic on keeping her awake, Lisa kept reviewing every single new piece of information that was now available for her due to the perks that came along with her old friend new rank. Carefully watching to see if she could make an educated guess to where the world was generally heading, beyond the obvious eternal answer of: Mostly downhill.

Sure, much of it she had already deduced earlier, for after finding herself basically stranded on a small town in the middle of Egypt thanks to a certain scary hat lady's gracious offer, Lisa had immediately gone to ground. A process that had been made immensely easier due to the fact that, thankfully, there were no contingencies in place to identify that her money came from the government of a parallel earth. And proceeded to try and find as much information as possible about both this new world and Taylor's possible whereabouts.

Only to be quite surprised by how easy both tasks had been.

One never truly appreciated the amount of master/stranger protocols and anti-thinker measures put in place almost as an afterthought in practically everything even remotely important or sensitive nowadays until those very same countermeasures were no longer there to bother you.

Things that would normally take her a good few hours of careful hacking could now be done with ease in mere minutes. Firewalls and security systems that would normally keep her at bay for days as she slowly and careful prodded them for their secrets now opened said secrets to her like they weren't even trying to block her way. The internet was hers for the taking, as a world that had never so much as heard what a Thinker was before now found for itself first hand what it meant dealing with high level one. As such she had found everything that she needed and more in a matter of days.

Somehow, learning that Taylor had, by some bizarre stroke of luck, become a pseudo demigod really should have surprised her far more than it had as she learned about it. But then again, she supposed that after her little stunt battling the Golden Idiot it was kinda of inevitable really. After all, how else would she keep to her personal hobby of escalating to perceived threats after that while being limited to being a mere human?

Letting out an unladylike snort Lisa concluded that it was a very good thing she had found Taylor when she had, because not only did her friend really need a few trusted people around to act as both counterbalances and to keep her grounded in order to keep her from doing something unwarranted. Something that Anit had apparently already been doing almost unconsciously, much to Lisa's silent relief. But she had also been in dire need of someone who could help her plan what to do next, how to proceed forwards. And preferably without all but becoming the new leader of a country by _accident_ of all things.

Something that she was more than happy to help with. Especially since it meant that the few things that she hadn't been able to try and research before in this world, magic and the supernatural, were now open to her due to Taylor's influence. And that was a whole new can of worms that she simply could not wait to open. Magic, real honest to God, capital M, magic. Something that had been outright scoffed as pure fiction back home but was completely normal in this reality.

She hadn't been able to participate herself yet, but considering what she had gathered about the training both Taylor and Anit had been undergoing, she was all but salivating to giving it a try herself.

But that was something for later. For now she had far more important things to do. Like to finish finding out every single person who was on Zaliki's pocket, and every single piece of actionable Intel regarding them, from bank accounts to long thought buried skeletons in the closet. A smile with far too many teeth showing firmly on her features she kept digging, as she armed herself against the fool that thought that she could mess with her friend with the greatest weapon of all, information.

While she had been aware of Zaliki's moves before, the true was that she hadn't had the time or the inclination to dig too deeply into it. Knowing only that he had been amassing power and influence, and that due to what she could see of his actions he was planning to covertly try and rein Taylor in somehow and subtly direct her future actions.

Something that if the blonde Thinker had anything to say about, simply would not happen, not by a long-shot. For if Lisa had her way, the arrogant idiot wouldn't even know what hit him as his power base crumbled to dust beneath his very feet long before he could so much as inconvenience one of the few people she could actually call a friend.

 **\V/**

Stretching her arms high above her head, Taylor calmly walked towards the large table situated in her hotel suite's main room, the enticing scent of food that had just been delivered by the hotel'sroom service moments earlier making her stomach grumble demanding that she feed it.

Being more than happy to oblige such a request she seat herself after serving a large platter of eggs, bacon and toast for herself, a small smile firm on her features as she started to eat. All the while thinking about what information Lisa ad uncovered already to make her want to talk to her later today.

Thinking about the Thinker inevitable lead her to think about their reunion a couple of days before. Finding out that her old friend had also been dumped into this alternate earth by Contessa had been quite a surprise. She still remembered how shocked she had been upon receiving the blonde's message asking for them to meet. But for once, the surprise had actually been pleasant for a change.

For while the confirmation that Contessa was at the very least somewhat aware of her current circumstances, something that was never a comforting thought, the Eighth Campione concluded that if the frightfully competent woman had wanted to do her harm, then it would have been infinitely easier for her to simply have carried on with Taylor's execution back upon that baren mountain top where last had them meet after the battle against Scion.

She wasted a moment longer wondering if Contessa could still see her with her 'Path', or if like Eidolon before his death she was now a blind spot for the Thinker.

Regrettably her one attempt to get a version of the woman's Shard for testing had been inconclusive at best. For despite her Shards of Infinity actually cooperating with the endeavor, she had been unable to acquire that particular power. A most definite feeling of not having enough energy accompanying the failed action.

' _Bullshit twelve indeed.'_ She thought with a hint of sarcasm, considering the probable ranking of Contessa's power as she finished polishing her plate.

But while said setback was regrettable, it was hardly earth-shattering. Especially considering the fact that, if her new idea panned out, that limitation could perhaps be lifted in the future. After all, Pandora herself had already proven that her Scion derived Authorities were not incompatible with being enhanced by external energy sources. At least, not if you had the right circumstances and resources at hand that is.

Lord Harakty had promised to deliver to her the strongest Dragon Bones currently at the Council's disposal as swiftly as feasibly possible. And while she only had the vaguest idea of how to proceed from there, some experimentation with a few Thinker Shards would at the very least point her in the right direction.

But while she was eagerly looking forward to see if it would be possible to recreate the circumstances that had allowed Pandora to permanently empower one of her Authorities, regrettably there were far less pleasing, but unfortunately necessary, matters to attend to in the meantime.

For Lisa had apparently been a busy little bee for the few days that she had been left by herself before deciding to contact Taylor, having quite a few pieces of information ready to share with her old friend and new boss. Information that sadly for a certain arrogant mage, bumped him from a mere nuisance to someone who had to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Especially now that, as Lisa gleefully pointed out to her, she had essentially turned Egypt into her personal fiefdom.

By _accident_ of all things _._

At the very least she now had some idea of what being the overlord of an area entailed, unlike when she had first acquired the position as the Warlord of the Bay. So she was hopeful that she could keep things running reasonably smoothly. Specially after dealing with Zaliki and his power-base.

Banishing that little realization to the back of her mind she rose from her seat and started to go to the bathroom, intending to get herself ready for the day, and more specifically, the meeting that Lisa had requested with her and Anit to discuss how to deal with the whole mess.

After all, not only would it probably be more than worth her time since Lisa's info tended to be quite good more often than not, but, as the fact that she had all but turned herself into a shut in these last few days as she went deep into research mode could easily attest, it was always a good idea to be there went the blonde Thinker got this way. For, truth be told, her old friend did have the unfortunate tendency to go overboard when not reined in.

The sheer hipocrisy of her current train of thought, of course, completely escaped the young Campione's notice.

 **\V/**

Anit wasn't yet quite sure what to make of her newest acquaintance and fellow retainer under the Eighth Campione's rule.

On one hand, Lisa was simply infuriating. She was far too smug and full of herself for the Egyptian mage's liking and was an unashamed know-it-all that had absolutely no compunctions on looking down on others.

But on the other, she was funny and witty, when she wasn't aiming that sharp tongue of hers your way of course, and beneath her utterly abrasive exterior she was surprisingly overprotective and supportive of those rare few she deemed fit to call friends. A category that, somehow, Anit had apparently unwittingly been introduced to, much to her confusion.

In the end the olive skinned woman had decided to treat Lisa as a working colleague for the time being. After all, since they were both retainers under Taylor's rule there would be more than enough time to figure the blonde woman's out eventually, there being no reason for unnecessary friction for the time being.

The fact that the blonde chatter box was undeniably useful and quite good at her job also definitly helped.

"-and that covers up all of Zaliki's direct supporters, their areas of influence, personal assets, allegiances and levers necessary for ensuring that they cease to support our dear little idiot," The blonde cheerfully explained as she motioned to the three neat folders currently atop the table being idly perused by the Eighth Campione.

That, alongside the massive folder that seemed to contain everything that appeared to be known about said council member, most of it being information Anit knew for a fact had to be extremely censored and secret and had no idea how Lisa had gotten a hold of. And the two other folders that were still waiting for their moment to shine resting by the side of the table, more than proved that she was a truly talented information gatherer.

"-so if we strike these two informants here and here, bribe these three guys here, and blackmail this idiot here, then we will be in a prime position to strike at-" Lisa continued, highlighting certain points and what was necessary to cause the desired outcome.

Of course, the fact that Taylor was apparently close friends with an extremely shady and skilled information broker of all things was more than slightly startling, the amount of private and confidential information the blonde woman had gathered in less than two days being more than enough to unnerve the Egyptian mage quite a bit. Not to mention that the fact they were now using the information gathered by said shady broker to plan what looked like a subtle but undeniably hostile complete takeover of Zaliki's power-base as an opening move to dealing with the council member himself was kinda unsetling. Especially since the whole situation actually made her question the validity of the 'crazy theories' that said that her liege had been some kind of government agent in the past before becoming a Campione.

"-for maximum effect we should try and be as discreet as possible about our actions at first, only letting him find out that we are subverting his followers into our own minions when is far too late to do anything about it. In order to do that we should-" But at the very least the blonde menace seemed to be firmly on Taylor's side, so she felt that giving her the benefit of the doubt for the moment wasn't too much to ask for.

And Anit had to admit, the idea of putting that idiotic, arrogant oaf of a council member on his place was a highly enticing proposition to her.

 **\V/**

As she silently tracked the movements of all the mages inside the large, unassuming building five blocks away from her current position with extreme ease, Taylor thought, not for the first time, just how useful her Eternity's Sight really was.

Back on Earth-bet this kind of stakeout would have needed her to be both way closer to the area of interest and demand a huge concentration of her swarm in order to pull it off. But thanks to her Authority, she could easily learn everything there was to know about her opponent's movements from the comfort of the small loft she was waiting in without any risk of discovery.

Lisa had tracked down Zaliki's most fervent supporters to this little unassuming building on the outskirts of Cairo, some kind of shadowy assassin mage order or some other such nonsense. Personally she hadn't really paid much attention to the useless details, focusing instead on what was relevant. Their strength and weaknesses, their numbers, their main base's location, and how they were fanatically loyal to the idiot's family, and as such were unlikely to be open to being convinced to stop supporting him. Meaning that they simply had to be removed from the board before they became a nuisance.

If there was one thing she had learnt as the Warlord of the Bay, it was that you simply could not let an unaffiliated power near your base of operations without either subsuming it or forcing it to ally with you. Well either that, or simply removing it as a factor altogether. Anything else was just asking for being stabbed in the back on the long run.

And considering how the fool was still trying to subtly gather allies for himself in order to try and curtail her options and figuratively try and put a leash on her, it was quite obvious what choice had to be made.

Lisa, after promptly volunteering Anit's aid to her plans and informing Harakty of what they were doing, was already making inroads with both subverting, bribing, or outright blackmailing Zaliki's less ardent supporters, effectively cutting the mage's support base in half in but a few scant days. But that still left the true fanatics to deal with, preferably before they learnt that someone was acting against their _lord_.

And that was where she came in.

She took no pleasure in doing it, but she knew it had to be done. Especially after accepting Harakty's pledge of vassalage and effectively turning Egypt into her home territory for the immediate future. There was simply no way she would allow a clear threat to both herself and her friends to stay lurking deep within her personal domain.

Despite having already mapped the whole structure, every single inch of its hidden corridors and rooms, and analyzed all the traps, spells and wards littering the whole area, she took a few minutes more to review it all, making sure she hadn't missed anything.

That particular task done with she proceeded with the next phase of the plan, a solemn frown on her features as the tiny, less than a tenth of an inch, sand scarabs she had summoned into existence several minutes earlier started to silently move towards their targets. Their extremely small size, ability to climb over and cling to walls and ceilings, flight capabilities, alongside her near omniscience of the area under the effect of her Eternity's Sight, allowing her to infiltrate the base completely undetected in a matter of moments.

Ten extremely long minutes dragged themselves by until finally her whole swarm was in position. Waiting undetected in ambush all around the thirty seven mage's lurking within the base.

It was time.

The fact that the strength of her sand minions was directly proportional to their size could be considered a problem, especially against tougher enemies. But the tiny scarabs were still strong enough to cut iron with their sharp mandibles, which was more than good enough for this particular endeavor. And that, alongside the fact there were about nine hundred of them waiting in ambush for every single unsuspecting mage, made her think that the result of the night's events was a foregone conclusion.

And if not? Well, should the first strike fail it would be a matter of seconds to fuse the tiny scarabs into far more imposing forms and finish the job. Not to mention the literal biblical plague of dog sized sand scarabs silently waiting within the sewer system for her command should the first wave fail to take any target down.

And, while highly doubtful, if even that wasn't enough, the few survivors would still have to deal with her while trying to escape the Gordian Knot of twisted space that she had turned the surrounding area into thanks to a currently active Shaker Shard.

' _Always have a plan, and never trust it.'_ She thought with a hint of self depreciation, having learnt from personal experience that having fallback plans was more than simply a sensible precaution, but a freaking necessity if one didn't want Murphy to raise his head and pay personal atention to you.

And so, with a final check to confirm everything was how it should be, she gave the order. Her swarm raising from the shadows and striking down every single mage within the building simultaneously, taking down her unsuspecting foes before they could even realize what was happening.

Moments later, nothing but silence permeated the large building's halls.

 **\V/**

Throwing open the large oaken doors of his personal study with enough force for them to rattle on their frames as they banged against the wall, Zaliki stormed into his office, a thunderous scowl firm on his features.

Ignoring his faithful Shadow dutifully shutting the doors close he threw a large ornamental vase against the far wall in an attempt to release some frustration. He simply didn't know how everything could have gone so wrong so fast! Everything was proceeding perfectly well, things aligning perfectly as he wove a web of influence all around the Eighth Campione's without the fool girl's notice!

And yet, for several days now, things had started to get derailed without rhyme or reason!

Several of his new allies had dropped all contact without a moment's warning; several more of those under his employed were now outright ignoring his orders! And even worse, even some of his long standing allies were now discreetly distancing themselves from him!

And to top it all off, the main headquarters for his Shadows had suddenly gone silent last night! The base was simply deserted when his remaining Shadows had combed through it this morning. No signs of struggle, no breached barriers or wards, not even a single speck of dust out of place to show what had happened! Thirty seven highly trained of his most loyal followers simply disappearing into the ether as if they had never existed!

There was simply one logical explanation left; one or more council members were making a move against him! Intending to usurp his efforts and take over control of the young God Slayer for themselves!

' _How dare they?!'_ He inwardly snarled, throwing another priceless vase against the far wall. After everything he had done for this forsaken country, how dare they raise their hands against him!

"My, oh, my, such an awful mood we are having, aren't we?" a smooth voice playfully stated from right next to the enraged mage, startling him into turning around, an ink black death-curse already flying from his hands in order to deal with however it was who had dared to enter his private study. Only for the interloper to bat aside the deathly curse as if it was nothing but an annoying fly, swatting it out of the air with a casual flick of his left hand, not even a single mark appearing on his person for the reckless action.

"How frightfully rude!" the ebony skinned figure said in the same playful tone of voice, his large mocking smile displaying his perfect white teeth. He was a wearing a perfectly tailored white suit with a red silk handkerchief serving as a tie, an equally white panama hat resting atop his black hair, a pair of round sunglasses hiding his eyes from view and a small web-like silver brooch on his chest.

"Abasi!" Zaliki shouted in alarm, calling his faithful Shadow to his side in order to deal with this stranger even as he covered his hands in oily shadows, ready to defend himself until his loyal assassin dealt with this annoyance.

"Now, now, no need for that. Don't worry; we won't be disturbed, I've made sure of that." The man jovially said, calmly walking through the study and towards the myriad of crystal bottles on the bar at the side. The large smile he was giving the council member forcing him to fight back an instinctual shiver down his spine. "Calling more people to this friendly meeting is not how this story is to unfold, after all."

Following the stranger with weary eyes as he uncorked an expensive bottle of whisky and poured a generous dose of the amber liquid into two glasses, part of Zaliki's mind couldn't help but notice the feeling of danger that seemed to exude from the suited man. As if his current politeness and manners were nothing but a facade hiding the predator lurking underneath.

"What do you want?" he forcibly asked, fighting down the foolish instinctual responses that were assaulting his body. He was one of the most powerful mages in the whole of Africa and a member of the esteemed Council of the Sands! He would not allow himself to be intimidated by some charlatan with some paltry tricks and a hint of magical skill!

"Very well, straight to business, I guess," the interloper flippantly replied with an amused chuckle and a condescending smirk on his features, before taking a slow sip of his beverage while walking towards the councilman, the other glass held securely on his left hand.

"Let's just say that I have a business proposition for you regarding the little thief that has recently settled down on our fair continent. Not that I have any problem with thieves, of course," he continued with a self depreciating chuckle, his good mood somewhat infecting Zaliki himself as his earlier wariness slowly left him without him noticing. "That would be the height of hypocrisy considering my past, after all!"

"But letting one of Pandora's little upstarts free to prosper undisturbed? Free to do as she pleases on my own birth continent no less?" he nonchalantly continued, a hint of disgust entering his words. And somehow, Zaliki found himself nodding in agreement, the stranger words resonating within his very being. "Now that simply can't be allowed to happen. After all, it sets a very poor precedent when all is said and done."

"And while planning how to proceed I just so noticed that you had found yourself in somewhat of a pickle, despite being the only one doing what had to be done and try and contain the little menace. And so I decided that it would be the neighborly thing to do to offer you a little help!" He cheerfully exclaimed, offering the second glass to the now hazy eyed council member.

"Who are you?" Zaliki slowly asked, a small annoying part of him forcing him to ask the inconsequential question. After all, if the man was going to offer him aid on his noble cause what else would he need to know? Slowly regaining his composure, his mind already starting to see how he could benefit from having such a powerful and wise mage aiding his efforts, he gladly accept the glass and took a hearty gulp of the amber liquid.

"Me?" The man asked in mock surprise, sliding his dark glasses down his nose just enough for Zaliki to see the pure black, insect-like orbs hidden behind them, and his white fanged grin growing far past what a normal human mouth could ever possibly contain. "Why, I'm your new best friend!"

 **\V/**

 **Author's Notes:**

So things have started to escalate once again, much to the lack of surprise of anyone that knows about Taylor!

I wonder if any of you can guess who our newest antagonistic Heretic God is? There are a few clues in the scene already, but here is one more. He is a mythological figure whose origin lies on the African continent but is nonetheless somewhat known on the Americas, more specifically the Caribbean, and has no influence from any other pantheon, be it from Europe, America or Asia.

And just a reminder, go to the poll in my profile if you want to vote if I should keep the 'Agent Skitter' idea as a series of pure Omakes or a Canon Side Story to Skittering Campione. The voting will be closed with the next chapter update next month.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.


End file.
